


Contagion

by zanash



Category: The Walking Dead & Related Fandoms, The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Angst and Fluff and Smut, Conspiracy Theories, Daryl Dixon Smut, Doomsday prepping, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Friends to Lovers, Gardens & Gardening, Government Conspiracy, Gratuitous Smut, Living Together, Post-Zombie Apocalypse, Pre-Zombie Apocalypse, Protective Daryl Dixon, Shameless Smut, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Zombie Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:35:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 24
Words: 60,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26315017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zanash/pseuds/zanash
Summary: Daryl is a single father to a 4-year-old little girl when the world comes to a screeching halt because of an out of control virus.  Shannon is a dear friend and his daughter's babysitter who is with him when things go bad.  Merle is a long-standing conspiracy theorist who has spent his whole life saving, building, and preparing for this very event.  Daryl, Shannon, and his daughter head to Merle's cabin at the start.  Life as they know it is completely and forever altered and they have to band together in order to survive in this new life.
Relationships: Andrea/Merle Dixon, Daryl Dixon/Original Female Character(s), daryl dixon daughter - Relationship
Comments: 75
Kudos: 51





	1. Chapter 1

“Nooooo! Daddy, please! I wanna stay with you!” Harper wrapped herself around Daryl’s leg and wouldn’t let go no matter how much he or Shannon, her babysitter, tried to coax her off. “She heard the news last night while I was makin’ dinner and she’s scared about all this virus stuff,” Daryl explained. Shannon squatted down next to Harper and tried to offer her anything she could think of, but Harper wasn’t having any of it. She was crying hard and her chubby little fists were pressed against her eyes. 

Daryl squatted down to her level and gently pulled her hands away from her face. “Everything is gonna be ok, sweet pea. Shannon is gonna take real good care of ya, and I’ll be here to pick you up before you know it.” Harper was always an easy-going little girl. She hardly ever threw tantrums, and never anything like this. It put Daryl on edge. “Do you think we could go inside and get you settled?” Harper started backing away, holding her hands out in front of her. She screamed and cried for him to take her home. “Ok, ok, shhh… Alright, honey, we’ll go home.” 

Shannon felt terrible for Daryl and Harper. Harper was always happy to come to her place. They always played and had an awesome time together. “Hey, I have an idea,” she started. “What if I go to your house and if she settles down in a bit, you can go to work? I can just keep her there. I mean, if you don’t mind.” Daryl thought it over for a second. He could just call out for the day. If Harper was this upset, maybe he needed to stay with her. But, if she calmed down enough, he could go in late. “Yeah,” Daryl agreed. “She might feel better at home. It’s worth a shot.” 

Even when they were home, Harper was unsettled. She wouldn’t let Daryl out of her sight. Anytime Daryl went anywhere in the house, she stayed right by his side. She was afraid that he might try to sneak out while she wasn’t looking. Currently, she was sitting on his lap, laid back against his chest and they were watching her favorite cartoons. Harper held his forefinger in her chubby little fist and Daryl rubbed his thumb across the back of her hand. 

Shannon made herself busy by making breakfast for everyone. Harper always ate breakfast at her house and she knew that Daryl just had coffee. Daryl’s house was very tidy and his kitchen was spotless. She didn’t know why it impressed her that he was a fastidious housekeeper, but it did. It wasn’t that she thought that men were incapable of being clean, it was just that Daryl kept everything in such a neat and orderly manner. She looked in the fridge to see what she could find to make. Harper was a good eater for a four-year-old, so it was almost always easy to feed her. 

Daryl allowed Harper to eat in the living room since watching cartoons was keeping her worried mind distracted. Shannon made scrambled eggs, sausage, and fruit. She brought them each a plate. Harper sat at her little table but was still close to Daryl. “Thanks for doin’ this, Shan. I appreciate your help today.” Shannon waved it off. “I’m happy to do it. This feels like an all hands on deck kind of day.” 

As they were eating, the morning cartoons were interrupted by an emergency broadcast report. Daryl and Shannon read the crawl as it scrolled across the screen. Being in Georgia, these were common occurrences for severe weather. But this was not a severe weather alert. This was very bad and it was happening in real-time.

Daryl grabbed his laptop and headphones. There was an emergency presidential conference starting in five minutes and everyone was urged to watch. “Sweet pea, I need you to watch cartoons on the computer for a little while.” Harper immediately looked like she was about to get very upset. “Everything is ok. Daddy and Shannon need to watch something on the TV.” “You promise not to leave me, daddy?” He kissed the crown of her head and promised. “I’m going to be right here beside you, just like I have been.” 

Daryl and Shannon sat leaning forward with their elbows on their knees, watching in absolute horror as the president announced that there were cases of the virus showing up all over the country and it was spreading fast. He urged people to stay indoors as much as possible, not to gather in large groups. Schools were ordered closed, there was no more visitation to nursing homes or hospitals, and he ordered the federal government to immediately take control of regulating and overseeing all medical supplies. Finally, he advised that people stock up with enough food and medicine to last for at least two weeks, more if you were able. There would be a nationwide curfew beginning the following night at seven o’clock. That was meant to be an effort to prevent looting as well as hopefully slow down to progression of the rate of infection. 

“I know where we need to go,” Daryl said calmly and quietly. He knew that all of Shannon’s family was in Tennessee and they had a strained relationship at best. She was a good friend and she was good to Harper. He would make sure that she was safe. “I’m going to pack some clothes for Harper and me. We’ll swing by your place so you can get some clothes and things. We’re going to my brother’s cabin. He’s one of those preppers like on that show. He’s got a whole basement stockpiled with food and supplies to last for years. He’ll take care of us.” 

Expectedly, Harper became very anxious when she noticed Daryl moving about and packing bags. “Daddy,” she whined, tugging at his t-shirt. “What’re you doing?” 

Daryl squatted down so she could see his eyes and know that he was telling her the truth. “We’re going on a little trip. You, me, and Shannon are going to go to Uncle Merle’s cabin to visit him for a while. How about you take this bag,” he handed her a large, empty duffle, “and fill it with your most important toys and books?” Harper took the bag, but still looked a little worried. “I’m going to pack clothes for you and me. I’m not going anywhere without you and Shannon, ok.” Harper's big blue eyes sparkled with about a million questions, but something about the way her daddy looked told her that it wasn’t the time for them. “Only pack what will fit in the bag.” Harper gave him a hug and dragged the bag into her bedroom.

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Merle waited on his porch for Daryl, Harper, and Shannon to arrive. He’d heard about the virus on his radio, and then Daryl called. He told Daryl to throw some shit in a bag and get his narrow ass to the cabin. Of course, he knew Shannon, and he was more than happy to extend the invitation for her to stay. Anyone who was as good to his niece as she was would always fall under his protection. He had more than enough space for them, not to mention the stockpiles of food, medicine, and ammunition he had. 

Merle’s cabin sat on over a hundred acres of heavily wooded land. When his and Daryl’s parents died, he took his share of inheritance money and bought the land for a song. Because it was so far from civilization and because it was uncleared, the seller just wanted it off of his hands so he no longer had to pay taxes on it. With the remainder of the money, he started digging out what would be the bunker and started the slow process of building his fallout shelter. 

Merle had always been curious about various conspiracy theories, and at a young age, he started researching and comparing the differences in what was widely accepted as fact versus the different alternate beliefs. Some were so outlandish that he wouldn’t entertain the notion that they could be true, but there were some that held weight. Little by little, Merle trusted the government less, though he still respected their position and their laws. By the time he was out of high school and working a full-time job, he had one goal; to own his own private chunk of land out in the country and be as self-sufficient as possible. 

Merle worked his ass off and saved every penny he could so that he could make his dream become a reality. Daryl bought a house with his inheritance and invited Merle to live with him. He knew that what Merle wanted might sound crazy to some people, but it was important to him and Daryl wanted him to have it. When Merle finished his cabin, Daryl couldn’t remember ever seeing him so happy. He’d worked his ass off for years to accomplish his dream and Daryl was proud of him for it.

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Harper wore herself out asking a million questions on the long drive to Uncle Merle’s place. She loved it there. She’d even helped him plant vegetables when the days first started warming up. Once they were headed to Uncle Merle’s house, Harper’s previous anxiety melted away and phased into excitement. 

She woke up when they neared the long, winding driveway and squealed with pure happiness. As soon as Daryl unfastened the straps of her booster seat she jumped out of the Jeep and ran toward her uncle. “Slow down, Harper,” Daryl called. “I don’t want you to fall.”

Harper paid him no mind as she ran right into her uncle’s big, strong arms. “Hey there, pumpkin! How’s my girl?” He planted a big wet kiss on her cheek and she giggled. “Did you have a good ride up here?” He didn’t give her a chance to answer and Harper squealed as he tickled her.

Merle ushered everyone inside to the kitchen. He had an early dinner waiting for them. “As soon as you called I put on a roast. We’ll talk about all of that stuff when we don’t have little ears here to listen to big issues. Ain’t that right, pumpkin? Uncle Merle got your room all fixed up. I even got you a TV and some movies.”

Harper couldn’t contain her excitement. She didn’t have a TV in her room at home. Daddy said that she was too little for that. Daryl side-eyed his brother and grumbled. “She’s my niece, baby brother. I’m gonna spoil her rotten as long as I live and breathe,” Merle chuckled. 

After dinner, they all went out to the porch to have a few cold beers and watch Harper play on the swingset and other various things Merle built for her. When he said he intended to spoil her, he damn well meant it. 

“What’s being said about this virus? What kind of symptoms and how is it transmitted?” Merle asked. His information about it was somewhat limited because he’d been working to make sure that everything at the cabin was in order. The few snippets he’d heard were enough to make the hair on the back of his neck stand up. It sounded like things could get bad. He was glad he’d followed his intuition and did everything he could to make sure things were checked and ready.

Daryl told him that the experts couldn’t seem to agree on the route of transmission, but many suspected it to be airborne. “They say that it’s like a cross between flu and measles. You get a high fever, aches, and a rash. They aren’t saying much more than that.” 

Merle was bouncing around all of the conspiracy theories about the world leaders having a bioengineered disease turned loose in small populations to see how it worked. All it took was one person breaking out of the containment area to spread it to others, then those others spread it, over and over until it was an epidemic, and then, a pandemic. 

“You doin’ alright over there, Shannon? You’ve been awfully quiet since you got here, honey.” Merle noted the sadness in her eyes when she first got there and knew that there was something heavy weighing on her mind. “You can talk to us.”

“I was thinking about how screwed I’d be if I didn’t know you guys. I can’t thank you enough for having me here.” 

“You ain’t gotta thank us,” Merle told her as he went to hug her. “You’ve been good to Daryl and Harper. I know we don’t know each other real well, but they talk about you like you’re family, so that makes you family in my book.” 

They watched Harper skip around the yard, trying to catch lightning bugs. “Guess we’re in this for the long-haul. Y’all are home now. We’ll be safe here.”

Daryl hoped for the sake of his baby girl’s life that Merle was right.


	2. Chapter 2

Before mass panic set in and the grocery stores were shuttered for more hours than they were open, Merle made a trip into town to stock up on a few more things. There was a Costco that was reasonably close. He had Harper to think of now. She would need things that he didn’t have, and so would Shannon. He was thoroughly embarrassed to ask her what kind of lady products she needed, but she made it easy for him and just wrote it down. “What about shampoo or that girly stuff you ladies wash with? Anything in particular, or should I just get what I can?” Shannon smiled and told him that whatever he got would be good.

Merle went alone. He told Daryl and Shannon that they needed to stay home and stay healthy for Harper’s sake. He climbed into his pickup and waved as he drove down the long, dusty driveway.

Shannon started cleaning up the breakfast dishes and Daryl offered to help. “I got it. Thanks, though.” There it was again. She sounded so sad and a little like she was lost. 

“Come have a cup of coffee with me.” Shannon looked over her shoulder at him and saw that he’d already poured her a cup. 

She dried her hands and sat down at the table with him. “Are you ok? I mean, really ok. You’re not yourself.” 

She put on a brave smile like she’d done for most of her life and nodded. “I’m fine, Daryl. It’s just a lot to wrap my head around, you know?”

Daryl nodded. “Yeah, I know. Are you sure it’s not anything else? You and me, we’re friends, right? You can talk to me. I might not have the answers, but I can listen.”

She considered it for a moment, but it was too much to unload on anyone right now. She needed to process it herself first. Maybe then she would talk to him about what was on her mind. “I appreciate it. I’m really alright.”

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Daryl chased Harper around the swing set and fort that Merle built for her. She squealed and laughed every time he lunged for her. “I’m gonna getcha!” She ran the other direction, laughing so hard her little cheeks turned red. She started climbing up the ladder to her fort. Merle made it princess-style, just for his little princess. Daryl might complain about how much Merle spoiled Harper, but deep down, he loved him for it. 

They were still chasing each other around when Merle came home. “Uncle Merle!” Harper squealed and ran toward him. 

“Whoa there, pumpkin. I’m gonna have to hold off on the lovin’ until I get a shower and some clean clothes,” Merle warned. He looked over at his brother and gave him a worried look. Things in town weren’t looking so good. 

Harper looked like she was going to get upset, but then a pretty blonde-haired lady walked up behind Merle. “Who’s she?” Harper asked warily. 

“This is a very good friend of mine. Her name’s Andrea. She’s gonna be stayin’ here with us. I’m gonna take her inside and show her where she can get cleaned up and we’ll be out in a bit. Maybe Harper will be wound down and ready to watch one of her movies so us grownups can talk.”

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After Harper ate lunch, she conked out in her room while watching a movie. Merle and Andrea joined Daryl and Shannon on the porch with some iced tea. Daryl noted the uneasy expression on each of their faces and assumed that things in town hadn’t gone so well. 

Merle and Andrea took a seat on the porch swing and got right to it. It was hard to tell how long Harper would stay asleep and there was a lot to discuss. 

“We damn near bought the store out,” Merle started. “I’m glad I ran into Andrea. She thought of a lot of stuff I didn’t even think about. We ain’t gonna be makin’ any trips back into town anytime soon. There were sick people walking around and buying up all kinds of food and medicine. The radio said that the virus was spreading faster than the experts thought it was.”

“It was really bad. I’m glad I ran into Merle. I was just going to stock up on some food and supplies and hole up in my condo, but Merle thought it might be safer for me to stay here.”

Shannon and Daryl both agreed. “Merle had it right all along,” Shannon stated. “Daryl’s told me all about why he built this place out here and why he wanted to live off the grid. We’re all really lucky that he did. Merle might just have saved all of our asses.” She turned to him and thanked him again. “I’m sure it’s safe to say that we’ll all pull our weight around here to keep everything running.” 

“Hell, girl. I built this place with more than enough room for all of us to be here. I knew when I was building this place that it had to be big enough in case the shit hit the fan. We’ll be alright here. There’s a few more things I wanna try to get my hands on. I’ve got some calls out to a few of the guys that I trade with. I wanna get a couple more quads. If I can’t trade for them in the next few days, I’m gonna go buy a couple.” Merle grinned real big with a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Imma put ‘em on my credit card. With the way things looked today, credit scores ain’t gonna be an issue much longer.”

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The four adults spent the remainder of the afternoon putting away and organizing all of the things that Merle and Andrea bought. In addition to the stockpile he already had in place, they bought more than a year’s worth of non-perishables and hygiene items. He and Andrea also managed to snag some clothes for Harper. They’d done really well for what was likely their last trip into town for a good long while. Merle was still a bit undecided. He knew that there were other things that they were going to need. Maybe they could all make a trip back to Shannon and Daryl’s houses so they could get the rest of their clothes. It was warm now, but if this thing held on, they were going to need winter clothes. 

That night after Harper was in bed, Merle turned on a twenty-four-hour news station. He might live out in the boonies, but he had satellite TV to keep him informed and entertained when he wasn’t working. 

The reports were devastating. People were panicking and hoarding anything they could get their hands on. Merle and Andrea didn’t purchase more than a few of the same things and it was only a handful of items, like multipacks of deodorant and shampoo. Merle was a seasoned prepper and already had most of those things stocked up. He bought extra just in case. Of course, he went way overboard making sure that Harper had all kinds of snacks and fruit cups and cereal bars. 

People who contracted the virus were suffering from vivid hallucinations brought on by the dangerously high fevers that came on suddenly. The best that the top epidemiologists and virologists were able to determine at this point was that the incubation period was very short; somewhere between three to seven days. They were still trying to determine how long the virus survived on surfaces, whether or not it was airborne, and they were working on learning the mortality rate and if there were particular factors that made it more lethal to some. If there was any good news from all of this, it was that children seemed to be less susceptible. The children who did get it tended to recover quickly and completely. 

There were other symptoms that were common for measles, but all of the labs gathered from patients showed that this virus wasn’t measles. Experts at this point were baffled. They were working around the clock and were conferring multiple times a day, every day. 

Merle switched off the TV and everyone sat in stunned silence for a few minutes. This thing was worldwide and no one knew what it was, how it was spread, or how to stop it. This was as bad as it got. No living person had ever seen anything like this. 

Shannon rubbed her temples with her fingers and closed her eyes. She was fighting off the panic that was building in her. There was already enough going on without throwing her anxiety into the mix. Daryl rubbed his hand on her back and asked if she was ok. “Yeah,” she nodded. “I will be. It’s… It’s just a hell of a lot to take in.” 

“We’re gonna deal with this one thing at a time. I’m thinkin’ we need to go back to y’alls houses to get all of the rest of your clothes in the next day or so. Maybe, if things don’t look too bad, we can do another bulk shopping run. We’re gonna have to get Harper some winter clothes and shoes for her to grow into.”

Daryl and Shannon nodded numbly. They each had a million thoughts racing through their minds. Life as everyone knew it suddenly changed. Shannon felt anxiety building inside of her and she didn't want everyone to see her have a panic attack, so she excused herself and rushed to her bedroom. 

“Is she ok?” Andrea asked. Daryl shook his head. 

“She’s been having a hard time dealing with this since this shit started. I’m gonna go check on her.”

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Daryl stood outside of her door for a few minutes, listening to see if he could gauge what she was doing before he knocked. He could faintly hear her breathing through the heavy wooden door. 

“Hey. You alright?” Shannon was sitting on the side of her bed, hyperventilating. He knelt in front of her and took her hands in his. “You’re ok, honey. You’re safe. I’m right here.” He reached up and gathered her long hair into a ponytail to keep it out of her face. “Look at me.” Daryl’s voice was soft and his gentleness was beginning to break through her panic. She blinked a few times and looked into his eyes.

“That’s it. I want you to slow down your breathin’. Breathe with me, ok.” Shannon nodded and tried breathing the way Daryl was directing her. “Good girl. You’re doing good. Keep breathin’ with me.” Shannon nodded and slowly, her respiration and heart rate returned to normal. “Good job, Shan. You did real good.”

He sat on the bed next to her and rubbed circles on her back. Daryl had his own issues with anxiety and he knew what helped him. It seemed to be helping her, so he went with it. “Talk to me. We’re friends and I want to help.”

Shannon wiped away a few stray tears that she hadn’t been able to keep from falling. “It’s stupid. My family basically threw me away because I was not afraid to speak my mind and think beyond what they thought I should believe. They’re toxic and I know that, but I still can’t help but worry about them. And, what if one of us comes down with this virus? What do we do? I’m terrified at the notion of any of us going near a hospital right now. And, Harper. I mean, I know you’re worried about her and I’m not trying to take away from that, but I love her to pieces. I’m so worried about her.”

Daryl listened quietly and let her get out all of her concerns, still rubbing her back. “It’s not stupid, Shannon. The fact that you still worry about your family just shows that you have a loving heart. That’s not a fault. It’s a beautiful quality that shows that you rose above to become a better person. I don’t see anything but good in you. As far as you being worried about Harper, why do you think you’re her babysitter? I see how much you love her and you take care of her like she was your own. I don’t trust anyone but you and Merle with Harper.”

Shannon felt honored that Daryl thought so much of her. “Listen, I can’t make you any promises about this whole virus thing. We’re staying here, away from people. Merle and Andrea showered and they wiped everything down that they bought before they brought it in. It’s all we can do. If one of us gets sick, we’ll deal with it. We can only do so much and we have to take it all one step at a time. We’ll get through this.”

Shannon hugged Daryl tightly for a long time. “Thank you, Daryl. Thank you for talking me down. There’s so much happening all at once. I guess it just got to be too much.”

Daryl squeezed her hand and gave her a crooked grin. “Come talk to me. I’m always here for you Shan. If you’re sure you’re good now, I’m gonna let you get some sleep.” 

Shannon swore that she was much better and wished Daryl a good night. She watched him walk out of her room and smiled. No one had ever made her feel validated or cared for the way he did. Daryl was a very special person and she knew that he would always be part of her life.


	3. Chapter 3

Days passed by in a surreal way. They went by fast, but it felt like time was meaningless now. They all tried to establish and keep a routine, especially for Harper. It was really important to keep things as close to normal as possible. Andrea and Shannon were working together to put a classroom together for her and searching for all possible resources to start homeschooling her in the fall. She wasn’t old enough to start kindergarten yet, but they could get her started in the right direction. 

Merle met with some of the guys that he traded with on the regular. He was part of a core group of preppers in the area. They communicated frequently and if one of them had something they didn’t need, they would offer it up. If one of them needed something, they would tell the others so they could keep an eye out. Paul found a really good deal on three quads. Merle was only looking for two, but an extra one could be sacrificed for parts if needed, or, it could be a replacement in case one went down. The person that had them was looking for a boat. Merle had a bass boat that he hadn’t used in a long time. A few phone calls later and Merle was the proud owner of three quads and rid of a boat that was taking up space in the barn. 

Merle and Andrea made one last trip into town. Merle hooked a trailer to his truck and they meant to bring back everything they could possibly get their hands on. They left armed with Daryl’s and Shannon’s credit cards, as well as their own. Merle had been right. Every day that passed, it looked more and more like credit ratings were going to be a thing of the past. 

They returned with the truck and trailer loaded with everything you could imagine. Andrea did all of the clothes shopping for everyone. They all wrote down their sizes and the kinds of things they preferred to wear. Daryl was a pair of jeans and a t-shirt kind of guy. Shannon liked leggings and yoga pants. Merle liked his cargo pants. Harper liked anything pink or purple. Finding winter clothes had been hard, but there were a few places that had some leftover stock from the previous season and they were happy to clear it out. 

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Merle and Daryl were out working on digging a root cellar. Merle, of course, already had one, but there were more people here and it made sense to build a bigger one. Andrea was planting different varieties of potatoes and sweet potatoes in containers on the patio. Shannon and Harper were busy in the garden. It was a beautiful spring day. The sky was bright blue and big, fluffy clouds were building up. It would rain tonight and it would be good for the vegetables. 

“Daddy!” Harper came running over to the deep pit where he and Merle were digging out the last few feet of dirt. Daryl squinted and shielded his eyes from the sun as he looked up at his little girl.

“Daddy! My garden grew!” She bounced up and down, excitedly. 

“That’s awesome, sweetheart! Be careful not to fall in, ok,” Daryl cautioned as she stepped closer to the edge. “I can’t wait to see your garden, honey.”

“Can I help you dig?” She saw the look on her daddy’s face, the one that told her he was probably going to say no, and she started pleading.

“Come on, brother. It won’t hurt her to come down and dig in the dirt. I bet she can help get us finished up in no time.” 

“Alright,” Daryl conceded. “Go get your shovel and you can help.” 

Harper returned a few moments later with the little garden shovel that Daryl bought for her when she told him that Merle was going to show her how to grow vegetables. He bought her a whole set that was just like the full-size ones, only made for little ones. 

Daryl went to the edge and asked for her shovel. “I want to climb down the ladder, daddy. I can do it.” She was becoming more and more independent and trying to assert her big girl status. Daryl felt like he had only just gotten used to being a baby, and now here she was climbing down the ladder like a pro. 

Harper shoveled dirt into a bucket so Daryl could toss it onto the pile. She worked between Daryl and Merle until the job was done. “Look at all the work you did, pumpkin! We’re all done!” Merle doated. Her hair was sticking to her sweaty face and she was covered with dirt. Daryl chuckled at how hot and dirty she looked.

“Let’s see,” Daryl started. “You picked up after yourself this morning, took your dishes to the sink, you worked in the garden, and you helped us finish up the root cellar. You did good today, baby girl.” 

Harper looked up at the sky and back to Dary and put her hands on her hips. “The day ain’t over, yet, daddy. It’s still daytime.” 

Merle started laughing and clapped Daryl on the back. “I think your girl just told us to get back to work.”

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That evening, after the sun had gone down and the crickets started chirping, everyone was winding down on the porch. Daryl and Harper were on the swing. She was so tired that she barely made it through her bath, but she insisted on going out on the porch to snuggle with her daddy before bed. They were all sipping lemonade and enjoying the spring breeze.   
Everyone was well and truly spent from their hard work, but it was for the benefit of everyone there. It felt good to see all that they could accomplish in a day. Merle’s head rested on the back of the rocking chair and his eyes were closed. The sound of the night coming to life was lulling him into a state of complete relaxation. There was no city noise. No traffic or blaring sirens. Just the sound of night and nature, just the way it was meant to be. At least in his opinion. 

He was almost asleep when the sound of crunching gravel and the glare of bright headlights lit up the porch. Merle was on his feet at once. It was either someone he knew, or it was someone that needed to know not to come back. 

Dwight was a thin, wiry guy who lived several miles from Merle, but he was his closest neighbor. “Evenin’ everybody,” he greeted with a little wave. He spotted Harper, who was asleep with her head on Daryl’s lap and kept his voice low. What he had to say was best not heard by little ears.

Andrea offered him a glass of lemonade, which he accepted gratefully. “I wanted to let y’all know not to go back into town. I don’t know what’s going down, exactly, but it’s bad. There was a bunch of looting and vandalism going on and it didn’t look like there was much being done to stop it. I didn’t see any cops anywhere. There’s not been much chatter on the stations I monitor. The last I heard was that if anyone got infected and died, well, something happens.” Shannon offered Dwight her chair and she went to sit beside Daryl who was holding Harper now. 

“What exactly do you mean by “something”?” Merle asked. Andrea went to where Merle was standing and linked her arm around his. She didn’t like the look in Dwight’s eyes as he started telling them about the things he’d heard that weren’t reported on the news. 

“It sounds crazy as hell and I don’t know if I would have believed it either, but I know one of the guys who saw it go down. Man, I’m tellin’ ya, he ain’t been right since it happened.” Dwight ran his hand over his hair and let out a breath. “He said that if a person dies of this virus, they come back somehow. They ain’t alive, but they’re up and movin’ and if they bite or scratch you, you get it.”

Merle scoffed, shaking his head. “Boy, you been hittin’ the bottle a little too hard or what?” Dwight looked almost pleadingly for everyone to believe him. 

“I wouldn’t be here tellin’ y’all this just to mess with ya, I swear. There’s enough going on without making it any worse. I have a video of it happening. Look, Merle, you know me. I’m not coming out here to spout off some wild bullshit. He’s not the only person I’ve been hearing this from. You know I have a ham radio. I’ve been hearing weird reports from all over the world for days, but I didn’t believe it until I heard it from my friend.”

Clearly, Dwight believed that there was some kind of threat, so Merle gave him the benefit of the doubt. “Can I see the video you’re talking about?” Dwight nodded reluctantly and pulled his phone from his back pocket. Andrea and Merle stood over her and watched something that looked like it was from a horror movie. Andrea covered her mouth to keep from crying out loud. 

Dwight sent the video to Merle so Daryl and Shannon could watch it after Harper was safe in her bed. Merle didn’t know if it was a hoax or not, but it sure looked real to him, to Andrea too. Dwight apologized for disrupting their peace. “If I were you, I’d start building walls around my property. I know a guy who can get us all kinds of materials.”

“Thanks, Dwight. I appreciate you coming out here to tell us about this,” Merle said. He genuinely felt bad for not believing him. There seemed to be some merritt to his story and Dwight was not the type to scream fire unless he knew it to be true. “Do you need anything? We can help you out if you need it.” 

“Nah. Thanks, though. I’ve got a bunch of berry bushes that I don’t need. I can run ‘em by tomorrow if you want ‘em.” Merle told him they’d take them. Any source of food was not something he was willing to turn down. Plus, Harper would love planting them and watching them grow. 

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Shannon knocked on Daryl’s door and waited to see if he was still awake. He opened the door a few seconds later and invited her in. “Did Merle send you the video?” Daryl nodded. “Have you watched it yet?” 

He sat down and patted the spot next to him. “Not yet. Come on over and watch it with me.” Shannon sat down and watched as he pulled up the video. The footage was shaky and there was no explanation as to why they were even making it. Shannon assumed that maybe it was meant to be sent to the family or something. An older lady was laid out on a bed with crisp white sheets and covered with a quilt. Her hands were crossed over her stomach and she looked like someone had taken great care in cleaning her up and combing her hair. 

Two middle-aged women were at the bedside, handkerchieves pressed underneath their noses as they mourned. There was a male voice out of frame, but distant enough to know that it wasn’t the person holding the camera. He was reading from the book of John. John 5:28-29, to be exact. Shannon would know. Her mother was fanatically religious. 

John 5:28 Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice

John 5:29 and come out - those that have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned.   
“Her hand!” cried one of the women. “Did you see it?” she asked the others. 

Daryl looked at Shannon who shrugged. She didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. But then, there was a twitch and both women gasped loudly. Shannon jumped a little and laughed at herself. A series of twitches, each increasing more than the last one and this time Daryl gasped. It went on for a minute and everyone was frozen in place, crying, shouting, praying. 

The deceased lady lunged upward at an awkward angle as if her muscles didn’t know how to respond appropriately. She was slumped forward at the waist and her head wiggled around shakily as she continued making that horrid snarling noise. 

Shannon, nor Daryl, knew what to think. This couldn’t be real. It looked like something out of one of those old George A. Romero movies that Daryl loved to watch. The old lady just kept lurching and lunging and snapping her teeth together, and like the women at her deathbed, Daryl and Shannon couldn’t move. They both wanted to turn it off and not watch any further, but the need to see what happened each passing second was too great. 

The elderly woman thrashed around so much that she dropped from the bed onto the floor with a sickening thud. The two screaming women were still in the same spot, their hands clasped together, and their eyes bugging out of their skulls. Their eyes followed every move the old lady made from the bed until she fell to the floor. I was almost comical until one of them started wailing in pain. From the angle of the camera, Daryl and Shannon were unable to see what was happening. The other woman was caught in her grasp and paralyzed with sheer terror. She screamed as if she was losing her mind. Probably she was. 

The view in the frame went haywire and everyone in the room was yelling and swearing. The man, presumably the one officiating the funeral, or whatever that had been, had a hold of the woman who was losing her absolute shit, and he was yanking her so hard it was a wonder he didn’t pull her shoulder out of the socket. The cameraman, whose dedication to his duty was damn admirable, was shooting from the bed onto the chaos below him. The old woman was biting into the leg of the woman who was about to rupture her vocal cords from all the squalling. She snapped her head from side-to-side like a dog, pulling chunks of flesh and sinew away from the tibia.

The video went on for only a few more seconds and then abruptly stopped. Daryl and Shannon stared at his phone in complete disbelief, neither of them said anything for a long while. Finally, Daryl asked Shannon if she was alright. 

“Nope. Uh, I’m going to get read or something and try to get some sleep.” She got up and quickly went to the door. “Good night, Daryl.” She bolted before he could even react. 

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Daryl tossed and turned for a long time, unable to shake the images of the video from his mind so he could sleep. He flopped onto his back and sat up enough to flip his pillow over, cool-side up. The way Shannon flew out of his room wasn’t sitting well with him either. She was already having a hard enough time with all of this shit. He shouldn’t have let her watch the video. That was on him. He huffed out a hard breath and tapped his forehead with the side of his fist. Sleep wasn’t going to happen until he knew if she was ok.

He softly knocked on her door as he cracked it open. “Shannon?” he whispered. If she was asleep, he didn’t want to wake her. 

“Come in, Daryl.” She was sitting with her back against the headboard and her knees pulled up to her chest. “Couldn’t sleep either, huh?”

“Not so much. Look, I’m sorry for letting you watch that. I should have at least watched it first.”

“Stop. I made the decision to keep watching it. Neither of us knew what we were going to see. If I could get it out of my head, though, that would be great.”

Daryl tipped his head toward the hall and grinned. “C’mon. I got an idea.” 

A few minutes later, they were in front of the TV with ice cream and cookies. “Anyone ever tell you that you deal with shit like a girl?” Shannon teased. 

“Pfft. Shut up and pass me the whipped cream.” He tried to scowl at her but cracked up.

She handed him the can, still laughing. “This was a really good idea, Daryl. Thank you.” She could see him smiling. 

“Hold your bowl up for a second.” Shannon watched as he spread out a blanket across both of their laps. “I know you get cold,” he commented with a little shrug. He wasn’t wrong. She had always been the first or the only person to catch a chill even when everyone else was warm. By the time she finished her ice cream, she was shivering.

“Are you really that cold?” Daryl asked as he watched her pulling her legs up and tucking the blanket under her chin. Shannon looked at him and nodded. He held out his arm and motioned for her to scoot over. Daryl was warm, she was cold, it just made good sense. She settled in under his arm and laid her head on his shoulder. They laughed together at the movie Daryl had chosen, and then Daryl noticed that Shannon was still and quiet. She’d fallen asleep and she looked so peaceful that he couldn’t bring himself to wake her. He turned off the TV and closed his eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

Merle shuffled into the kitchen to get a cup of coffee for himself and for Andrea. When he headed out of the kitchen, he spotted movement from the end of the couch. He thought that maybe Harper was already awake, so he went to see if she needed something. He crept to the couch, fully expecting to snatch up his niece and make her giggle. He wanted just one sip of his coffee before he got there, though. He no sooner had the hot liquid to his lips when he saw exactly who was on the couch. He was so surprised that he almost spit coffee everywhere. 

Shannon snuggled against Daryl last night when they were watching a movie and she got cold. It was completely innocent, of course. Daryl and Shannon were friends and they were getting closer every day because of their new living situation. When Daryl saw how peacefully she was sleeping, he just couldn’t bring himself to wake her. 

Merle was completely baffled as he stood there looking over the back of the couch. Daryl’s head was laid back on the cushion and his legs were stretched out on the ottoman. His right arm was still wrapped around her. Merle didn’t know his brother had anything going on with the babysitter. He grinned and started back to his room to take Andrea her coffee. 

It was hours before Daryl and Shannon finally woke up. They were up most of the night after they watched that terrifying video from Dwight. Shannon was the first to stir. She stretched her body to its full length. Her eyes popped open when her hands rubbed over something that felt suspiciously like a human. With the way things had been so topsy-turvy since the virus interrupted their lives, Shannon woke up nearly every morning needing to reorient herself. 

Daryl moaned in his sleep and it was low and deep and it completely caught Shannon off guard. She kept her eyes closed and brought her arms back down to her sides. Daryl shifted around under her and then she remembered it all at once. Daryl had wrapped his arm around her and pulled her against him and he was so warm that she must have gotten comfortable and fallen asleep. 

Daryl shifted again and this time his hand came down on the side of her head and he started rubbing his fingers on her scalp. He must have thought Harper was sleeping against him. Shannon lay there in a state of confusion. Should she remain still so he could keep sleeping? Should she get up before he realized that he was playing with her hair? What was the protocol for this situation? What time was it anyway? Why hadn’t Harper come running in squealing and bouncing all over her and Daryl? 

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Merle quietly closed his bedroom door and smiled at the beautiful woman who was still sleeping. Andrea was amazing in every way. They’d known each other for a long time and they were friends. When Andrea came to stay at the cabin, it wasn’t either of their intention to become more than just friends, but things happened. She went to him late one night, scared and vulnerable. Merle had been perfect. He held her and let her go through all of her emotions, he gave her comfort and helped her to process her feelings, and he assured her that as long as his heart still beat in his chest, he would protect her and keep her safe. They made love that night and Andrea promised him that it wasn’t because she felt she owed him anything for letting her stay. Merle promised her that it was only because he really wanted her. 

They agreed to keep things quiet for a bit. Everyone was already dealing with so much change, plus, the idea of sneaking around was just scandalous enough to get their adrenaline pumping. Now, she was in his bed on her belly, her knee bent and poking out from under the sheet, and she was perfect. 

“G’mornin’, beautiful,” Merle whispered into her ear, sweeping her golden curls away from her face. She hummed and smiled at the feel of his calloused hand on her face. “Got a little gossip for ya, if you’re interested.” 

Andrea sat up, covering herself with the sheet. “I never thought I’d hear gossip from you, so spill it, mister.” 

“I didn’t think that Daryl and Shannon had anything going on, but they’re in there all cuddled up on the couch like a couple of teenagers.”

Andrea’s eyes widened as she sipped her coffee. “Oh! I think they’d be cute together, and she adores Harper. We should take Harper and get out of here for a little while so they can have some privacy.”

“That’s a good idea, darlin’. I think I know just where we should go.”

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Daryl rubbed his eyes and squinted at his watch. He was instantly aware of two things: the first was that this was the latest he’d slept since he was a teenager, and, second, that it was far too quiet. Shannon moved her head around on his lap and he realized that his right hand was in her hair. 

While Shannon was trying to decide if she should stay or get up, Daryl started playing with her hair in his sleep and she dozed off again. She could feel him moving around again. Probably it was time to get up, anyway. 

“Morning. D’you sleep ok?” Daryl’s voice was thick with sleep and gravelly. He watched intently as Shannon stretched her arms above her head. Her back bowed in the center and her shirt came up, exposing her slender waist and ribs. He didn’t want to stare like some sort of deranged perv, but he couldn’t keep his eyes off of her exposed skin. Shannon was a pretty girl, for sure, but she was a good friend and Harper’s babysitter. If he didn’t quit looking, he was going to have a much bigger issue than his morning semi. 

“Did you sleep ok? You couldn’t have been very comfortable.” Daryl told her that he actually slept really well. “I’m starving. You want some breakfast?”

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“They’re so pretty!” Harper gasped as she looked at all of the horses. Merle and Andrea loaded her up and took her out to a friend of Merle’s so she could see his horses. 

“I’m gonna need some help brushing them,” Aaron told the girl. “Do you think you could help me out?” She looked to Uncle Merle for permission and he nodded. Of course, he’d allow it. That little girl had him completely wrapped and he couldn’t tell her know when she was this excited. 

“You have to do exactly what Mr. Aaron tells you, ok. That way you stay safe and don’t get hurt. If you do a good job, he might let you come back and help out.” Merle knew that Harper would always be welcome on Aaron and Eric’s farm. They loved children and were in the middle of the adoption process when all of this virus business shut everything down. Aaron and Eric weren’t giving up hope that something would come through for them, though. This was just a hiccup. They believed that they would get to one day be parents. 

Harper was very attentive to every instruction Aaron gave her. She stayed close and did exactly as he told her. She spent hours brushing the horses and feeding them carrots. Merle and Andrea captured many pictures and videos for Daryl. Harper was having the time of her life and everyone around her took it all in. It was nice to be able to let all of their worry and stress go and just enjoy the innocence and joy only a child has. 

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It was early evening by the time Merle, Andrea, and Harper arrived back home. Harper was so excited to tell her daddy all about the horses that she sprang from her seat as soon as the truck was parked and she tumbled out the door and onto her knees. She got right back up and ran straight over to where Daryl and Shannon were stringing wire for the raspberry and blueberry bushes that Dwight brought over. They set the poles earlier that day and waited for the concrete to set up.

“Hey, sweet pea! Did you have fun with Merle and Andrea today?” Daryl asked as Harper jumped into his arms. Strands of her hair were plastered to her sweaty forehead and she was as dirty as she was after helping dig out the pit for the root cellar. 

“Uncle Merle and Andi took me to see horses! I gotta feed ‘em and brush ‘em, and Mr. Aaron said I could come back any time and work. He said I was a good helper! I like him and Mr. Eric. They were nice. And, guess what, daddy,” she didn’t even give him time to take in a breath to ask what before she was told that she even got to ride one of the horses. 

“Sounds like you had a big day, huh?” She was still so excited that she couldn’t stop squirming.

“Yeah! Can I go back again, daddy? Please!” She had the biggest smile on her face and she flashed her bright blue eyes at him. 

“Sure, honey. We’ll take you back to see the horses again.” 

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It was windy that evening and heat lightning flashed in the distance. Occasionally, thunder would echo through the surrounding mountains. The adults were gathered on the patio, drinking cold beers and unwinding from the day. Harper was dead to the world right after her bath. She was still chatting up a storm about the horses. 

“Aaron’s husband works - well, worked, for a large doctor’s office. He said that as soon as the president made the announcement about the virus, they were issued orders to lock the doors and if a person had any of the symptoms they were to be directed to the emergency room. He said that they even had an ambulance show up that stayed until they closed every day. He said it wasn’t one of the county trucks. Said it was one of those FEMA ones. The next week, he said that they had a national guard soldier posted at their door who was checking temperatures. If anyone had a fever, they were escorted to the ambulance and taken away.” As Andrea recounted Eric’s experience, she nervously peeled off the label on her beer bottle in little strips. 

“What about now? Is he still working? Are doctor’s offices still open?” Daryl noted the fear he heard in Shannon’s voice and he knew that her anxiety was creeping up. He watched her from the side of his eyes, waiting to see if she calmed down or if he needed to intervene. 

“No. He and Aaron stayed in town until Eric told Aaron what was going on, they decided that they would be safer out here full-time. Aaron boarded up his practice and Eric quit immediately.”

“His practice?” Daryl asked. “What kind of practice did he have?”

“He’s a therapist and Eric is a nurse. They said that they hated leaving all of their patients behind, but they wouldn’t be able to help them when this is all over if they caught the virus and it killed them.” Daryl made a mental note that he was going along the next time Merle took Harper out to see the horses. Maybe Aaron could give him some tips on helping Shannon with her anxiety. 

“So, uh, I couldn’t help but notice that the two of ya slept out on the couch last night,” Merle stated as he got up to get everyone a fresh beer. Daryl rolled his eyes and huffed. 

“Wondered how long it’d take ya to make a big deal about it.” Daryl lit a cigarette and slouched further down in his seat. Daryl and Shannon were both blushing and it did not go unnoticed. 

“Well, is there anything y’all want to tell us, or are we keeping things on the DL?” 

“Oh, Merle, we’ve been dying to tell you all about our torrid love affair for so long, but we thought that you wouldn’t approve. Why, with me being the babysitter, our love is quite scandalous,” Shannon responded in a very exaggerated southern drawl. Merle and Andrea waited for Daryl to respond in some way, but he was staring down at his lap. An awkward quiet settled over them for a minute until Daryl started laughing. Shannon handed Merle’s shit right back to him in the best way. 

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The thunder and lightning increased later in the night. Daryl was once again having trouble getting to sleep. He probably should check on Harper anyway. If she heard the storm, she would come running. He got out of bed and crept into her room. She’d kicked off the covers and the bottom half of her was hanging off the side of her bed. Daryl gently slid her back onto her pillow and covered her up again. He switched on the little lamp on her dresser so she could see if she woke up and tiptoed out of her room. 

He really meant to make himself go back to his room and go to bed. After the way that Merle went on, making a big deal about him and Shannon being on the couch together, he wasn’t sure that she would appreciate another nightly visit. But, here he was tapping on her door. Maybe she’d be asleep and he could pretend like he wasn’t really awake because he was thinking about her so much. Maybe…

“Daryl? Is everything ok?” Shannon asked quietly. She invited him and staggered back to her bed. She was well on her way to dozing off when she heard him knocking. She’d given up on him coming for a nightly visit. It was kind of a thing since they started living here. She thought maybe he was asleep, so she listened to the wind and the thunder and it was soon lulling her to sleep.

“Yeah, um, everything’s fine. Couldn’t sleep so I checked on Harper and thought I’d make sure you were doing ok.” She smiled so much that her sleepy eyes lit up. 

“I’m good. Thank you for checking in on me.”   
Out of a habit he had with Harper, Daryl rubbed his palm over the side of her head, swiping her hair from the side of her face. He was embarrassed as soon as he realized his blunder, but Shannon was smiling up at him. She looked so sweet and appreciative of the gesture that Daryl let it go for now. 

“Well, I, uh, I guess I’ll let you get to sleep now.” Daryl grinned back and started out of her room. He stopped short of the door and looked back. “Listen, any time you have trouble sleeping or you just need to talk, I’m always here. If it’s the middle of the night, or whenever, you can come to talk to me.” He started to walk away, but she called his name.

“Daryl,” her voice was soft and quiet. He turned back to look and she looked so pretty with the reflection of rain rolling down the widow cast onto her by the flashes of lightning. “I just wanted to say thanks, again. It really means a lot that you’re, well, you.”

Daryl watched her for a minute, he didn’t know what else to say without it sounding awkward. He gave her a little lopsided grin and a nod. “Sleep well, Shannon.” 

Shannon did sleep well that night. She felt safe, protected, and validated. Never once did Daryl tell her than her anxiety was all in her head, or to just to put it out of her mind. He was the only person who never did any of those things. She didn’t know what to make of Daryl Dixon. He was unlike anyone she’d ever had in her life. He accepted her just as she was and they enjoyed each other’s company. No one had ever done anything like making ice cream sundaes and sitting up all night with her because she was scared. Now, she had this amazing, sweet guy who was winging it through life with a little girl all on his own, as a wealth of support and friendship.


	5. Chapter 5

Andrea and Merle snuck out of bed and out of the house well before dawn. It wasn’t that they didn’t want everyone to know that they were more than friends, they just wanted a little more time to enjoy it on their own. Plus, Andrea always made a lot of noise when they had sex and Merle wanted to hear it again. Having to cover her mouth when she came took a lot of the fun out of it for him. 

Merle led her along a path at the back of the cabin to a little shed that was on the property when he bought it. He’d been sneaking back and putting a few things inside to make it a little more romantic. He had stashed away some quilts and some battery-powered lanterns that flickered with a flame-like glow. It wasn’t much, but it was private and he’d cleaned it up. 

Andrea giggled like a schoolgirl as she jogged behind Merle to keep up with his long strides. The path was pitch dark, but Merle took her along it as though it was lit up by the sun. He crashed his back against the shed door, pulling Andrea into his arms. They were both laughing like teenagers who had snuck out in the night. “Darlin’, I’m gonna make this so good, they’ll probably still hear ya.” 

Andrea raised an eyebrow and she ran her hands down his sides all the way down to the very obvious bulge in his pants. “So, open the door and take my clothes off. I don’t want to wait another minute.” 

Merle made quick work of getting the thick quilts spread out on the floor while Andrea switched on the lanterns. It wasn’t much to look at, but it was special to her. Merle had made an effort with very little time to sneak out here to fix it up. 

She jumped a little when she felt Merle’s big hands grab her waist. He rubbed his hands over her belly and up to her breasts. His lips were soft, but his kisses were desperate on her neck. “I’m one luck sonofabitch. I landed the most beautiful woman in the whole world.” 

She turned around, crossing her arms over his shoulders. “There’s nobody I’d rather be with than you.” Merle pressed his lips to her so gently at first, but it quickly went from tender to passionate, almost desperate. Their hot breath came out faster and harder with each passing second. Andrea slid her hands under his shirt and raked her nails over his ribs. A low growl came out as he continued kissing her. Merle slipped his hands under the elastic of her shorts and over her ass. 

“No panties?” he pulled back, chuckling. 

“Nope. Why? Did you want more clothes to take off?” Andrea smirked. 

“Good point, darlin’.” He pressed his lips against her smile and pushed her shorts down her legs and tugged her shirt over her head. He grabbed the backs of her thighs and lifted her up. “I gotta taste you, woman.” Andrea squealed when he plopped her onto a work table that was built into the back wall of the shed. He’d tested it out when he cleaned up. He didn’t want his oral talents to be wasted on a chance that the table might break. 

Merle sat her down and devoured her neck. Andrea let her head fall back, giving into the hot tingling sensation that raced through her. One of his hands was on her thigh and the other roamed from one bread to the next, catching her nipples between his first two fingers and squeezing them gently. 

Andrea moaned out loud and Merle responded in kind. They’d kept the volume low for long enough. It was time that they got to hear one another properly. He kissed his way down her body, savoring every inch of her. “Lean back for me, honey. Let me look at you.”

Andrea leaned back on her elbows and Merle slid his hands under her ass and pulled her towards him. He eased her legs apart and placed her feet on the table. “Damn, honey. You’re fuckin’ beautiful.” Merle rubbed his big hands from her ankles up to her breasts as he bent at the waist and settled between her thighs. 

“Oh, Merle!” Andrea cried out, slamming her hand down on the table. Merle raised his eyes and growled when he saw Andrea squeezing a breast in her free hand and her head thrown back. Hell, he thought to himself, he was just getting started. If being free to make all the noise she wanted got her this wound up, he would move them to the shed and let Daryl, Harper, and Shannon have the house. 

Merle licked her with the flat of his tongue from her entrance to the swollen bundle of nerves and then rolled the tip all around it before sucking it into his mouth. Andrea was writhing around, completely consumed by the devilish things he was doing with his mouth. He slipped one, then two fingers inside her and he had to use his arms to keep her legs from snapping shut. 

“Merle! Ohgodyes! Yesyesyesyesyes!” Her eyes rolled back and her back arched. Her body shook all around him as he drank up her sweet nectar. Merle unbuckled his belt and got out of his pants while kissing her inner thighs. He tugged his shirt off and threw it aside as he moved over the top of her. She jolted when she felt him begin to lick her belly. He slowly made his way to her breasts and claimed them with his hands and his mouth. Andrea cried out as he teased and sucked her nipples. 

“C’mere, honey. I’m gonna fuck you so good.” He helped her from the table and onto her feet. Their eyes met and Andrea pulled him into a kiss that burned through him like white-hot fire. She wound her finger into his hair and pulled his head back. She smiled at him impishly and turned around, leaning on her elbows on the table.   
“Fuck me hard, Merle,” she told him, glancing over her shoulder. 

Merle growled like a bear and bit into the side of her neck, sucking hard as he lifted one of her legs onto the table. He rubbed his throbbing cock along her wet slit a few times and thrust into her. “Reach back here and put your arms around my neck. You’re gonna need to hold on for this.” 

He wrapped one arm around her and gripped her hip with his other hand. Andrea linked her fingers together behind Merle’s neck. He started pistoning into her hard and fast, giving her just what she wanted. The louder she moaned and cried out, the harder he thrust. 

“This how you want it?” Merle groaned into her ear. 

“Yes! Jesus, Merle! Give me everything you’ve got!” 

Give it to her, he did. When Andrea’s legs started to shake so much that she could hardly stay on her feet, he hooked his arm under the leg that was on the table and held her up. 

“Come on, sugar. Cum for me.” She was already on the precipice basically from the jump, but when he gave the command, she fell right over. She screamed his name and pleaded to all the deities. “Damn girl! That’s it! Yeah, shit yes!” Her pussy was clamped on him like a vise and the rhythmic contractions milked him to completion.

When Merle was able to, he eased her down onto their makeshift bed and held her close, kissing her dewy skin. “Oh, Merle.” Andrea breathed. “That was amazing.” He pulled back and gazed down at her face. She looked completely content and thoroughly wasted and it made him laugh.

They talked for a little while and made love again, this time slow and sweet before they headed to sneak back into the house. 

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“Guess what, jellybean,” Shannon said as she put Harper’s lunch on the table. 

“What?” Harper asked with great big excited eyes.

“Your daddy, Uncle Merle, and Andrea are going to be working on the fence near the creek. You and I are gonna put on our bathing suits and splash around while they work. Uncle Merle even found a few inner tubes for us to float on.” 

After lunch, Shannon and Harper came out to get on one of the quads to ride down to the creek. Daryl saw them coming down the steps and he nearly swallowed his tongue. Shannon had on a bikini top and a pair of cutoffs. Harper had on the little bikini that Shannon had bought for her to wear in the little kiddie pool at her house. They both were wearing sunglasses and they each had a bag slung over their shoulder. 

“Hey, D. Don’t worry, I put sunscreen on her and brought more so I can keep her covered.” Daryl was fighting hard to keep his eyes directed above her neck. The bikini she was wearing left absolutely nothing to the imagination. To her credit, everyone she lived with made her feel comfortable enough to wear something that made her feel good about herself. She truly had no ulterior motives when she put on her swimsuit. 

“Oh, uh, yeah. I know you take care of her. I ain’t worried.” he stammered. “You know how to drive this thing, right?” 

“Yep. I used to ride all the time.” Of course, she did, Daryl thought. Shannon knew how to do everything and she was good at it, too. 

Daryl made sure that they were safe at the creek and rode over to where he and the rest of the group were working on putting up security fencing. It was hot and laborious, but it was necessary. Some of Merle’s contacts were making daily trips to the edge of town to see how things looked. There were still some people who were trying to make it in so they could get supplies or to the hospital, but mostly the town was overrun by those dead things. No one understood it. No one was doing anything to get rid of them. The really frightening part was that some of the guys reported that they’d seen small groups of the dead nearing the county road that led out to Merle’s property. His property was several miles from town, but if those things were heading this direction at all, they weren’t taking any chances. 

Shannon and Harper were having fun. If they walked a short distance from where they entered the creek, there was a massive rock that was the perfect slide. Years and years of erosion had smoothed its surface into a gentle slope. When the water was up, as it was now, the flow was just fast enough to carry a person over whether in an inner tube or if you laid back and floated. 

Harper rode on Shannon’s lap over the fall and down the river. She’d squeal and laugh every time. “Ok, jellybean, this is the last time for a little while. My legs are getting tired from all of this walking.” Shannon had a system that worked well for this. She tied the inner tube to her ankle when they got to their spot. Then, she’d carry Harper while dragging the floating tube, to the center of the rock where the water flow was the strongest. She’d plop into the tube in a shallow spot and then push them into the deeper water with her feet. It was tiring, but it was worth it to hear Harper laughing and having the time of her life. 

Shannon held Harper around the waist as they started to float. “Here we go!” Harper threw her arms up and started laughing as the current carried them to the start of the slope. She was laughing so hard as they went over that Shannon started laughing with her.   
They floated back to where their belongings were and got out long enough for Shannon to reapply sunscreen on them both. They went to a place that was only about knee-deep on Harper and it was under a huge tree. Shannon spread out a towel to sit on while Harper went back into the water to look for minnows. She was only a few feet away from Shannon, but Shannon would always be glad that she was. 

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“Shannon sure looks pretty today,” Merle hinted. He and Andrea were on the same page that Daryl and Shannon would definitely be good together. 

“Anybody ever tell you that you drop hints like dropping lead balloons?” Daryl scoffed. 

Merle laughed and threw some more cement onto the bricks. “What? You can’t tell me that you don’t think she looks good.” 

It was true. All Daryl had been able to think about was how she looked in that bikini top and short cutoffs. He never thought of her that way before, but lately, he found himself thinking about her all the time. He was always wondering if she would like this or that, or if maybe she would like to stay up late and watch movies again, and he always thought about how good she was with Harper. 

“Daryl, even I think she looks hot today and I’m not into girls,” Andrea smiled. “If you like her, you should go for it. I’ve seen the way she looks at you and how she is when you’re around. Her whole energy changes. She relaxes when you’re near and she smiles in a way that lights up her whole face.”

Daryl squinted against the sun as he looked at Andrea. He thought about what she was saying for a moment. “Really? Has she, um, you know, said anything?” 

Merle winked at Andrea on the sly. He knew his brother had a little something for the babysitter. It was damn well time that he had somebody that would treat him right. After everything went down with Harper, he was afraid that Daryl had completely shut that part of his life down and would never let anyone in again. 

“She told me that you check on her every night and that no one has ever treated her the way that you do,” Andrea replied. “She also told me that she feels safe with you. Tell me, Daryl, how does she make you feel?”

Daryl was quiet for a while. He had a lot to think about. “Would you guys mind watching Harper for a little while tonight? I think me and her need to talk.”

“You got it, brother,” Merle beamed. “Get your girl.”


	6. Chapter 6

Daryl asked Shannon if she’d care to help him make dinner. “Sure. What do you want to make?” 

“I was thinking that we could have that tortellini chicken stuff you like so much. Andrea picked some spinach that we can add to it if you want.” Yeah, he paid attention to the things that she liked. He’d made this for dinner a few weeks ago and she raved about it. 

They divided up duties and chatted like they always did. Shannon sat on a barstool at the kitchen island, chopping vegetables while Daryl grilled chicken on the stovetop. 

“Would you be up for a walk with me after dinner?” Daryl asked nervously, not taking his eyes off of the chicken.

“Sure.” Shannon’s response was quick and cheerful. Now all Daryl had to do was make it through dinner and figure out how to have this awkward conversation with Shannon and not make an ass of himself. He really hoped that Andrea hadn’t fed him a line of bullshit. 

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Daryl carried a flashlight in one hand and was wiggling his fingers with his other hand. He moved about in the yard, fidgeting, while he waited for Shannon. He turned when he heard the screen door close. She jogged down the stairs saying something about bugs biting him, but all he could focus on was how pretty she was. The next thing he knew, she was rubbing something on each of his arms. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her face. She looked so pretty in the fading light of day.

“You ready?” she asked. She noticed the way that he was looking at her and she tittered. “What? Did I do something wrong?” 

“No. Not at all.” Daryl’s low, husky voice stirred something in her that she had been fighting to push down. Did that look in his eyes mean something, or was she making a mountain out of a molehill? He tipped his head to the side and offered her his hand. He hadn’t planned on it, it just sort of happened.

Shannon smiled as she slipped her small hand into his larger one. His hands were rough from working. Hers were soft and delicate. It seemed like the perfect combination. They headed into the woods to a path that Daryl knew well. It would take them to a beautiful clearing on a hill where they could sit and look at the stars. 

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“Oh wow!” Shannon gasped. “It’s beautiful here!” She stared up at the stars for several minutes. It was dizzying being able to see them so bright and twinkling in the sky. She turned to Daryl and he was looking at her like he was before they started their walk. 

“Is everything ok, D? You’re not firing me are you?” she teased. 

“No! No, I’m… I’m sorry. I just have some stuff on my mind and I’m a little lost.”

Shannon looked at him with deep concern and grabbed his hands. “Talk to me. You know that you can talk to me about anything.” 

Daryl nodded and gave her a tiny smile. “Have you ever wanted something that you weren’t sure that you could have, but fear kept you from pursuing it?” 

Shannon snorted. “You’ve met me, right? I’m pretty sure that you’re well-acquainted with my brand of crazy.” 

“You’re not crazy,” Daryl said, softly. His expression told her that he had something to say that was pretty important, so maybe now wasn’t the time to try to lighten the mood with levity.

“I’m sorry, D. Yeah. There have been a lot of times that I wanted to go after something, but fear or anxiety got in the way. I made a lot of progress from where I was when I was younger. I learned that it’s ok to take a few chances because regret is way worse than rejection.”

Those were pretty powerful words considering the reason he brought her here. He thought about it and was quiet for some time and Shannon couldn’t ignore it any longer. 

“Come over here, D. Let’s sit down and talk. You clearly have something pretty heavy sitting on your shoulders, so come on, out with it. We’ll figure it out together.” She pulled him by his hand over to a log where they could sit and discuss whatever was bugging Daryl.

Shannon laid her hand just above his knee and leaned in close, giving him her full attention. It wasn’t helping him put the words together in his head at all. “I don’t even know what to say, Shan.” 

“Just spit it out, you big goof,” Shannon chuckled and bumped his shoulder with hers. 

“I’ve really liked spending so much time with you, lately. All of the late-night talks and the time that we get to share a laugh, or a serious moment, or watch a dead woman come back to life, I’m glad that it’s been with you. You made all of those moments better. I know I sound like a jackass, but it’s all true.” Shannon hadn’t moved an inch. Daryl laid his hand over hers. “I’m not trying to make things weird or complicate things. If this is one-sided, it’s ok. I’ll always want you in mine and Harper’s life, and I’ll always respect those boundaries.”

Astonishment rolled over her like a tidal wave. In her wildest dreams, she never would have imagined that Daryl was bringing her up here tonight to tell her that he had feelings for her. Are you absolutely sure that’s what he told you? Girl, you have to make sure before you go and stick your foot in your mouth. Daryl studied her expression, hoping to see a positive reaction. 

“Are you saying that your feelings are more than just friend feelings? I just want to clarify so I don’t screw up.”

“I… Yeah, Shan. Please, don’t feel like I’m pressuring you. If you don’t feel the same way, it’s alright.”

“Stop talking,” Shannon held up her hand. “You’re starting to sound like you’re trying to talk me out liking you back.” She turned her eyes up, shyly. “In case you haven’t noticed, I keep myself awake at night so you can tell me goodnight. I miss it on nights when one of us falls asleep.”

The corners of Daryl’s lips turned up and he let out a little chuckle. He rubbed his thumb back and forth across the back of her hand. “Well, just so ya know, I haven’t missed a single night. Even when you’re asleep, I still come in and tell you to have sweet dreams.” 

“You do?” She looked at him as if it was the most romantic, meaningful gesture ever made. 

“Mmm-hmm. You’re important to me, to my family. I gotta look after ya.” 

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Daryl pulled Shannon back against his chest so she could follow the line of his arm all the way to the tip of his finger. “Just follow my finger. D’you see the brightest star right there?” Shannon nodded against his chest. “That’s the north star. It’s the end of the handle of the Little Dipper. Now, you just follow it down and right there,” he drew with his finger, “is the bowl.” 

Shannon turned and gazed up at him happily. “You know all the coolest stuff.” 

“Just wait till I start showin’ off my trackin’ skills.” They stood up together. It was time to head back. Daryl pulled her into a tight hug and nuzzled the top of her head, breathing in the scent of her hair. 

“Shannon, I know what you went through with the last guy you went out with. I just want you to know that I’ll never hurt you.” 

She tilted her head back so she could look at him. Daryl cupped her jaw with both hands. She could feel them tremble, especially his thumb when he lightly traced the line of her bottom lip.

“I promise,” Daryl whispered. He leaned in slowly and pressed his lips delicately to hers. Her eyes closed and caught his lips with hers. They stayed that way for a moment until she felt Daryl smile. 

“C’mon. We should head back.”

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“I want my daddy!” Harper cried. She, Uncle Merle, and Andrea had a good time laughing and playing together. But now it was bedtime and she just couldn’t go to bed without her daddy there to kiss her goodnight and tuck her in. 

“I know you do, pumpkin,” Merle soothed. He paced around the living room, carrying her and rubbing small circles on her back. “I’m sure your daddy will be back soon.”

“I want my daddy now!” Nothing that Merle or Andrea had tried so far had worked. Harper was a daddy’s girl through and through and nothing would do until he was home again.

“I’ve got an idea,” Andrea offered. “Would you like to help me make some chocolate chip cookies? I bet they’ll be warm & ready to eat when your daddy and Shannon get back.” 

Harper wiped away her tears and nodded. “Can I mix in the chocolate chips?” 

“Of course you can. You can even add extra if you want.” 

The three of them went into the kitchen and Andrea and Harper started getting the ingredients out of the pantry. 

Harper was happy and giggling until the cookies went into the oven and there was nothing to do except wait for them to bake and for her daddy to come home. She sat in the middle of the kitchen island and started to cry again. 

“Hey, sugar plum,” Merle cooed, scooping her up. “I thought we were having good times.” Harper was tired and that was clear, but she was determined to stay awake until she could be put to bed properly. 

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Daryl stopped at the front door and turned to Shannon with a shy smile. “Would it be ok if I kissed you one more time before we go inside?” 

“I’d love it if you did.” She wound her arms around his neck and their kiss was as perfect as the first one. Daryl lingered a few seconds longer than he did the first time, but they didn’t take it any further than a simple, yet sweet kiss. 

When they stepped inside, Merle and Andrea looked relieved beyond measure. They could handle a crying little girl, but nothing was going to make her better until her daddy was back. 

“Hey, sweet pea,” Daryl called out as he crossed the room. “What’s the matter?” Harper reached out her arms for him to take her. 

“I missed you, daddy. I only want you to tuck me in,” she cried, burying her face against his neck.

“Daddy’s here now, so no more tears, ok.” He sat them down and pulled her back so he could look at her. “Do you want a story tonight?” 

Harper shook her head. “No, daddy, snuggle me.” She crawled up and laid her head on his shoulder again and Daryl held her the way she liked being held and in no time at all, she was asleep.

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Shannon was asleep with her book on her chest and lamp on when Daryl came to tell her good night. She looked so pretty to him. Her hair was getting lighter from all the time they spent out in the sun lately. He carefully lifted her book off of her chest and marked the page it was open to and put it on her nightstand. He leaned over and kissed her temple. 

“Sweet dreams, Shannon.” Even in her sleep, she was aware that Daryl had come to her. She sighed and moved around a little. Daryl turned back for one last look before he turned off her lamp and she had a little bit of a smile.


	7. Chapter 7

Daryl was up early and everyone else was sleeping. He put on a pot of coffee and stared out the kitchen window while he waited. The sky was just beginning to lighten and the birds were chirping and he had plans to go out on the patio and just enjoy the peace. 

He sat down and propped his feet up on the wicker coffee table. Sipping hot coffee and smoking his morning cigarette was the best way to start his day. After working long, hard days for the last few months, they all agreed that they should take a day off and just relax. Everyone was sore and tired from throwing down on the fence. Merle owned so much property that some days it felt like it would be impossible to fence it all. But, their determination to finish was getting it done.

Daryl was lost in his thoughts of a million different things and missed the patio door opening and closing. Merle sat down beside him with his own cup of coffee and lit a cigarette. 

“Mornin’, brother. Beautiful, ain’t it?” Merle tipped his head toward the horizon where the sun was just starting to peek over. 

“Mmm-hmm. It sure is. You picked a great piece of land.”

“You know I gotta ask. How’d it go with Shannon the other night?” Merle watched as a big smile lit up his brother’s face. Thank Christ. Merle thought to himself. He was sure that with everything that had gone down with Layla, Daryl would never trust or open his heart again. Who could blame him for what she put him through? There had been no signs, no warnings, Daryl came home from work one day when Harper was only a few months old and Layla was gone. She left a note telling him that motherhood wasn’t something she was cut out for and she wished him and Harper all the best. She made sure that she added that she purposefully delayed Harper’s nap time so she would be asleep when he came home, adding that she waited until about ten minutes before Daryl would arrive. Thank God for Shannon. She was working at a bookstore that Daryl liked to go to and she was about to quit so she could work from home as a book editor. Daryl often brought Harper in with him. He thought that giving Layla a little downtime in the evenings was a noble thing. After she left, he saw it as him showing her that he could take care of the baby on his own.

“She’s into it. She said that she feels the same way.”

“Well, alright! That’s great! I’m happy for ya, bro. It’s about time that you and Shannon had a bit of happiness.” 

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Shannon and Harper were on a blanket they’d spread out on the soft grass. Daryl drove them out to a section of the property on the far northwest corner of Merle’s land where there was a huge pond. The three of them planned to spend the day soaking up the sun and swimming. Shannon was getting Harper’s lifejacket fastened on her while Daryl was unloading a large inflatable raft that Merle had stowed away in the barn. Harper saw it one day when Daryl was exploring with her and he promised to take her out on it. 

“Hurry, Daddy!” she squealed. Shannon smiled at how excited she was about getting to do such a simple thing. This whole end of the world thing was good in the way that the lucky kids, like Harper, were going to grow up learning how to live off the land. She already had a good start on growing vegetables. They started a little seed garden for her and they were teaching her how vegetables grow from seeds. She had the little section of the garden that she and Merle planted, but now she was getting to see things grow in real-time.

“Jeez, bossy much?” Daryl teased. He dragged the raft out of the bed of the truck and down to the water’s edge while Shannon admired the way his biceps bulged. He had the sleeves of his t-shirt rolled up to his shoulders and she was getting a full and perfect view. 

“Come let me put some sunscreen on you before you get burned up,” Shannon waved him over. 

Daryl sauntered over to the blanket and sat down in front of Shannon. She tugged up the back of his shirt as he started to pull it over his head. She’d seen him without a shirt many times, but now he was sitting here between her legs and those big beautiful shoulders were beautifully displayed right in front of her. She squeezed out some sunscreen and rubbed it between her hands before starting to massage it into his skin. Harper was playing on the raft, so Shannon decided that she would take advantage of a rare moment and make it last as long as possible.

“I was thinkin’,” Daryl started. “Tonight, after Harper is asleep, maybe we could have a movie date in my room.” She could see that he was chewing his bottom lip and it made her giddy. “I mean… Shit. That sounded like I wanted to drag you into my bed. I didn’t mean it that way. I just meant…”

“Daryl. Relax. I know what you meant. I would love a movie date tonight. I think it’s a really sweet idea.” 

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Daryl stood in the middle of the raft, holding Harper over his head with both hands. She was squealing to the top of her lungs and laughing so hard that her cheeks were red. 

“I’m gonna do it!” Daryl threatened through his own laughter. “I’m gonna throw you in!” 

“No, you’re not, Daddy!”

Daryl waved her around over his head, heaving her a few times like he was going to toss her. “I don’t wanna fly into the water!” she shrieked. 

“Ok, ok… I won’t throw you in,” Daryl said as he pulled her close. He winked at Shannon and promptly jumped out of the raft. 

She watched as they went underwater and waited for them to surface. When they did, Harper’s eyes were squeezed shut and she pulled in a loud deep breath. 

“Are you ok, jellybean?” Shannon asked with concern. Harper coughed a few times and scowled deeply. “Oh, honey! We’ll have to get daddy back for that, won’t we?” She was trying hard not to laugh. When Harper scowled, it rivaled anything Daryl could pull off. 

“Here,” Daryl floated over close to the side of the raft. “You wanna take her and dry her face?” Shannon nodded and reached for Harper, who by now looked like she was about to throw a fit any second. As Shannon reached, Daryl moved away a little and grabbed Shannon’s forearm. 

“Don’t you da…” Shannon squealed as he pulled her over the side and into the water. When she surfaced, Daryl and Harper were both laughing.

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Daryl had on a pair of baggy cotton sleep pants and a t-shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Despite the liberal amounts of sunscreen, his shoulders still got a little red. He opened his bedroom door when Shannon knocked. 

“Welcome to date night,” he grinned, shyly. He held his arm out, inviting her in. There were several candles flickering about his room. He found some extra pillows and had them arranged against his headboard. “I grabbed a few DVDs or we can see if we can find something on satellite.” 

Shannon followed him over to his bed. She noticed that the covers had been rolled down to the foot of the bed very neatly. She adored that he’d put so much thought and detail into setting the scene for their date night. 

“Daryl,” she whispered. “This is so sweet and perfect. Thank you for this.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and stared up at him, watching him bite his bottom lip for a moment and pulled his head toward her. She pressed her lips to his and moved her hand to the center of his chest. Daryl eased one arm around her waist and the other hand into her hair. All of their kisses have been gentle, innocent, but Daryl couldn’t help himself anymore. He pulled her against him tightly and ran his tongue across the seam of her lips. Shannon whimpered as she met his tongue with hers. Daryl let out a hard breath through his nose and slid his fingers through her silky hair. Shannon felt his heart beating beneath her hand and an electric current flowing from one to the other. When he broke the kiss a moment later, he rested his forehead against hers and rubbed his thumbs back and forth over her cheeks. 

“Wow,” Shannon sighed.

Daryl chuckled and kissed her forehead. “Yeah. I felt it, too.” 

After deciding on a movie, they crawled to the middle of his bed and cuddled. Shannon turned onto her side and threw her arm and leg over him and laid her head on his shoulder. Daryl wrapped his arm around her and wound their fingers together with his free hand. He lightly rubbed the tips of his fingers up and down the length of her arm with his other hand. 

“I had a really good time today, Shan. I can’t remember the last time I laughed so much. And, you were pretty cute when I pulled you into the water and your hair was all in your face when you came back up.”

“I have an idea for our next date,” Shannon said, looking up at him.

“Oh? So, that means I’m doin’ pretty good, huh?” 

“Definitely,” she replied as she moved up and kissed him.

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The sun was covered by thick black clouds and the wind was howling in a sleep-inducing way. The rain came down hard enough that everyone was lulled into a deeper slumber. Daryl and Shannon were wound tightly together and his TV was still on and the DVD logo bounced around the screen. They didn’t make it through the first movie last night. They were warm and comfortable and tired from being in the sun and playing hard all day. Daryl managed to blow out the candles before they fell asleep. Most of them were simple little tea lights so they burned out pretty quickly. Once Daryl and Shannon were asleep, neither of them moved. His bed and the extra pillows felt like they were lying on clouds wrapped up in the gentle arms of the person they each cared most about.

Thunder rumbled low and long through the mountains for hours. It was the perfect setting to keep the normally early risers in their beds. The storm gradually strengthened and lightning began to flash across the sky and the low, rumbling thunder was soon cracking and booming almost constantly.

Harper woke with a start when a loud thundercrack shook the house. Harper didn’t like thunderstorms at all. In fact, she was terrified of them. Her daddy always told her that she was safe as long as she was inside. She wanted to be a big girl and be brave, but then an earth-shattering cannonade of lightning and thunder had her running as fast as her little legs would carry her to her daddy’s room.

“Daddy!” she shrieked as she ran across his room to his bed. She climbed up expecting her daddy to wrap his big, protective arms around her and tell her that she was safe and that he had her. That wasn’t what she got though. Shannon was in the spot where daddy normally was. 

Daryl jolted, startled by the shrieking of his little girl. “It’s ok, sweet pea. You’re safe.” Daryl blinked heavily, trying to wake himself up. Shannon let out a loud “oof” as Harper's knees crashed into her ribs as she crawled over to Daryl. 

“Why is Shannon on your bed, Daddy?” 

“How about we go and try to make some breakfast and we’ll talk about it?” Daryl suggested.


	8. Chapter 8

Daryl moved around the kitchen making breakfast for his girls. His girls, he thought to himself. He liked the way that sounded. Harper was in Shannon’s lap with her arms wrapped around her neck while Shannon swayed from side-to-side. Harper squeezed her and shook every time it thundered.

“Look what daddy made you for breakfast, jellybean,” Shannon said, kissing the top of her little head. Harper turned and looked at the table where Daryl had set her plate. He made waffles and topped them with whipped topping that he found in the freezer. Shannon scooted them closer to the table so she could help Harper with her food.

“Shannon, how come you were in Daddy’s bed?”

Daryl looked up at Shannon through his eyelashes as he sipped his coffee. “Yeah, Shannon,” he said with a smirk and a wink. “Why were you in my bed this morning?” 

Shannon narrowed her eyes in mock anger as Daryl fought back laughter. “Well, last night, I was having trouble sleeping. You know that your daddy and I are friends, right?”

“Yeah,” Harper nodded.

“He invited me to come and watch a movie in his room so we wouldn’t wake anyone up. I guess at some point, we must have fallen asleep, just like you do when we watch movies sometimes.”

Harper pursed her lips as she thought about Shannon’s explanation. It made sense in her little mind. 

“Do you have any questions, jellybean?” Shannon asked. Harper’s expression told her that she probably did.

“Did daddy kiss you goodnight?” she asked innocently.

Daryl choked on his coffee and Shannon stopped breathing for a second. Should they tell her the truth, or should they play it off a little longer? How do you answer a question like that appropriately for a four-year-old?

“Why do you ask?” That was the best that Shannon could pull out of thin air to stall without stalling. 

“Because daddy has magic kisses that make me go to sleep when I’m not even sleepy. When I’m not tired and he makes me go to bed because it’s bedtime, he kisses me right here,” she pointed her stubby finger to the center of her forehead, “and then I get sleepy.”

Shannon thought that was about the sweetest thing she’d ever heard. Daryl was an amazing father. The fact that Harper was so well adjusted and smart was proof of that. Daryl worked hard every day, came home and made dinner, bathed his sweet girl, and read her bedtime stories. Even with the way things were now with everything being upside down and completely different, Daryl didn’t change a thing about how Harper was cared for. It didn’t surprise her that Daryl made up a cute little magic trick to get her to sleep. 

“That is exactly what happened. Your daddy told me about his special kisses and he kissed my forehead and it knocked me right out.” Shannon tossed her head back like she’d been slugged and let it fall back as if she’d passed out asleep. Harper laughed in her adorable way and Shannon laughed with her. Daryl looked on, happily watching the interaction between his two favorite girls. He was falling hard for Shannon. He denied that he had feelings for her for so long, but now that he finally admitted it, he was seeing her in a whole new light. Shannon was more devoted to Harper and treated her better than Layla ever had. It made him sad to admit it, but it was true. Layla was all about finding a routine and solution to keep Harper quiet or asleep as much as possible. He saw it all clearly now. 

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“Aaron!” Eric called out, frantically dashing from room to room, looking for his husband. “Aaron, honey, where are you?” 

Aaron heard Eric yelling his name and came running up from the basement. He’d gotten up early and started canning strawberry jam since it was raining and there wasn’t much else that he could do. 

“I’m here, babe. I took down some fresh jam and rotated our stock. What’s going on?”

Eric’s neck and cheeks were red and blotchy and his eyes were wide. Something was clearly going on and Aaron was concerned. 

“Come here, my love. Let me get you a glass of water. You look like you need it.”

Eric allowed Aaron to guide him to the kitchen table and help him to sit down. When Aaron brought his water, he cupped Eric’s jaw and looked into his eyes worriedly. “Talk to me. What’s got you so worked up?’

“Do you remember the patient I told you about that I was working with who was pregnant and they found out that her husband had cancer?” Even though it was a HIPAA violation for them to speak about specifics concerning patients, Aaron was his spouse and they both were in the medical field. Sometimes, they needed to be able to talk about the patients they had that really got to them. 

“Of course. Were you able to get an update on them?” Power, Wifi, and cell phones were still somehow up and working, although there were major outages and calls dropped all the time. They knew that their time with these luxuries was fleeting. 

“She had the baby. It’s a girl and they named her Nora Grace and she’s perfect.” Eric’s eyes filled with tears. “Jonathan died yesterday. His cancer was very aggressive and they think he may have come in contact with something during one of his last treatments before everything shut down. Melanie isn’t doing well.”

“I can’t imagine what she’s going through,” Aaron sighed. His heart broke for the young couple. This was such a terrible time for the world as it was, but now Melanie had to face it without the love of her life. 

“Aaron, honey,” Eric squeezed his hand. “Melanie asked if we would take the baby. She has the virus. She said that she just started showing symptoms yesterday.” 

Aaron’s eyes filled with tears. A bittersweet cyclone of emotions swirled wildly through him. He wanted to be overjoyed and focus only on the idea of him and Eric getting the baby that they so desperately wanted, but sadness filled his heart. On top of all of that, there was a great sense of urgency. Melanie was sick and the virus had a fast-approaching expiration date. 

Eric shook Aaron’s arm after he called his name several times. “Hey, where’d you go?” 

“I’m sorry. I just had so many thoughts, and, um, we’ve got to get moving. We have to get to Melanie and the baby, fast. We need to get baby supplies. We have a lot to do and we’re going to need some help.”

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By just after lunchtime, their plan was all laid out. Daryl was the better option for going for a few reasons. He was lethal with a crossbow and they would need to be as quiet as possible. From the reports that Merle had been getting from his ham radio sources, the recently resurrected came after anything living and moving. Plus, Daryl had a daughter who was not so long ago a baby. His knowledge of baby needs would get them in and out of the baby section, or a baby store, faster than if Aaron and Eric were left to making choices. 

Eric and the baby would be tucked someplace safe while Daryl and Aaron made a run for supplies. After they had what they needed, they would get Eric and the baby and take them home. It was a solid plan. It made all the sense in the world for Daryl to go, he was torn about it though. He was happy to help Aaron and Eric, but he wasn’t keen on the idea of leaving Harper or Shannon. He needed them as much as they needed him. He felt like his heart was being squeezed at the very thought of it. He dreaded telling Harper. She wouldn’t take it well and he knew she would cry and it would just about kill him. 

He started down the hall to Harper’s room when he felt a soft hand on his arm. He turned and found Shannon standing there with a worried look in her eyes. “I’ll go with you to tell her. I thought it might be good for me to be there so I can tell her all the things we’re going to pass the time while you’re gone.” 

Daryl smiled and kissed her palm and they headed to Harper’s room together. Harper was sitting at the table that held her dollhouse that Uncle Merle had gotten her. It was one of her favorite things to play with when she couldn’t play outside. 

“Hey, sweet pea. Will you come over here for a second? Daddy needs to have a talk with you.” Daryl and Shannon sat on the side of Harper’s bed and Shannon rubbed her fingers over his back on the sly. It felt damn good to have her there with him, supporting him.

Harper climbed onto his lap and laid her head against his chest. It just felt like a cuddle kind of day. Daryl kissed the top of her head and just relished in the moment. “Baby, I have to help Mr. Aaron and Mr. Eric.”

“Is it for the horses? Can I come and help, too? They like me.” She was almost giddy, thinking about seeing the horses again.

“No, honey. It’s not about the horses this time. A lady they know has a brand new baby and the lady is sick. She asked Mr. Aaron and Mr. Eric to take the baby, so I’m going along to help them to get the baby and the things they need for her.” 

Harper pulled away and stomped a few feet away. She crossed her arms over her chest and scowled at Daryl angrily. They had explained to her that it was dangerous to go into town because there were bad people there. How could they possibly begin to explain something as complex as the dead returning to life when they couldn’t understand it themselves? 

“Harper, sweetheart, the lady is very, very sick. She’s not going to get any better. We have to go get the baby because she can’t take care of herself. I’ll be back as fast as I can. I’ll even wake you up if you’re asleep when I come home.” Harper’s bottom lip pouted and she started breathing fast, her ‘I’m about to cry’ hallmark. 

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After a good half-hour of calming and promises, Harper was as ok as she was going to be with Daryl leaving. A few minutes after that, Shannon, Merle, and Andrea watched as Daryl drove Merle’s truck down the driveway until they were out of sight. Shannon closed her eyes and prayed to a God that she stopped believing in a long time ago. She and Harper needed Daryl to make it back to them and she was willing to do anything to have the favor of safety surround him.

“Are you ok, sweetie?” Andrea asked. She reached down and held Shannon’s hand. 

“I will be when he comes back home.” Shannon let out a shaky breath and wiped away a tear. “I’m gonna go check on Harper. She’s pretty upset.”

Merle and Andrea watched her go into the cabin and let out a worried sigh at the same time. “Maybe we can help keep them occupied,” Andrea suggested. 

“Of course we will. We’ll give ‘em a little space and follow their lead.”

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Shannon carried Harper to the dining room for dinner. Shannon had only been able to get her to watch cartoons in her room, but Shannon had to stay right with her. Merle and Andrea offered to step in and spell her, but Shannon told them she was fine. She felt like Harper needed her to stay close. 

“Hey, Harpie,” Merle loudly greeted. Harper would only wave her hand. She didn’t feel much like talking. It felt like her daddy had been gone for ages, but it was only a handful of hours. “Uncle Merle made your favorite mac and cheese.” Shannon sat down and Harper hid her face against Shannon’s shirt. 

“You need to eat, jellybean.” Shannon tried to sit her up, but Harper just shook her head. “Come on, sweetie. You’ve got to have energy for when your daddy gets back.” 

The three adults were able to coax Harper into eating about half of her mac and cheese and Andrea was even able to get her to eat a fruit cup. Harper was sad and worried about her daddy. Her little mind understood that the baby needed help, but there were others that could have gone and she didn’t see why it had to be her daddy that had to go. 

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Shannon had just fallen asleep with her book on her chest and her lamp still on when Harper came into her room, crying.

“What’s the matter, sweetie? Did you have a bad dream?” Shannon slipped her legs over the side of the bed and reached for the little girl.

“I miss my daddy,” she bawled. Shannon held her close and rocked her from side to side for a few minutes. Shannon missed him, too. She was sure that he would already be back and was worried because he wasn’t.

“Hey, I’ve got an idea. What if you and I go snuggle in your daddy’s bed? You can cuddle his pillow since it smells like him. I’ll even turn on some cartoons to keep us company.” She pressed a kiss to Harper’s temple and rubbed small circles on her back. “How does that sound?”

Harper readily agreed and in short order, they were snuggled together in Daryl’s bed. Shannon even found a shirt that Daryl had worn recently and put it on so Harper could feel even closer to him. Shannon pulled Harper against her and played with her hair while Scooby-Doo played on the TV. 

The next thing she was aware of was the feeling of a warm hand on her skin and lips pressing against her temple. She slowly blinked her eyes open and saw Daryl smiling down at her. He was soaked to the bone and looked like he was ready to fall down and sleep for a week. Shannon carefully extricated herself from Harper and stood up so she could properly kiss him. 

He led her to the hall and quietly closed his door. “I missed you,” he confessed, placing his hand against the wall above her head. “I couldn’t stop thinking about you.” Shannon felt his eyes bearing down on her and his fingers gliding along the side of her neck and into her hair. His nose brushed over hers and then his lips were against hers. Shannon grasped the side of his neck and pressed her hand to his chest. Their tongues met at once and Daryl pressed his body against hers. In seconds, Shannon’s chest was heaving against his and a weak, pleading moan passed from her mouth to his. His fingers closed into a fist in her hair and he kissed her with everything that he had. 

He pulled away a few moments later and they were both out of breath. “If I don’t stop, I’m not sure I’ll be able to, Shannon. The way you kiss me is like nothing I’ve ever felt before.” He laid his forehead against hers and stroked her cheeks with his thumbs. “You make me want you so much.” He enveloped her with his arms and nuzzled his cheek into her hair. She felt so damn good and he didn’t want to let her go. 

“Hey,” Shannon whispered after a while. “I know a little girl who’s going to be so happy to see you.” Daryl kissed the top of her head and held her a moment longer. “Come on, let’s go let her know that you’re home. She’s been worried sick about you.”

Daryl lifted his sleeping girl and put her head on his shoulder. “Hey, sweet pea. Daddy’s home.” Harper wiggled around a bit but remained asleep. “Harper,” Daryl sang. “You better wake up and give me some hugs.” 

Finally, she lifted her head and rubbed her sleepy eyes and realized that someone was holding her. “Hi, baby girl. Daddy promised to wake you. I’m home now, honey. Daddy’s home.”

Harper squealed “Daddy” and squeezed his neck tight enough to cut off his air for a second. She was so overwhelmed with emotions that she started crying. “Shhhhhh… It’s alright. Daddy’s gotcha.” Daryl rocked her back and forth kissing her head over and over. “Daddy’s here, baby. It’s ok.” He sat her on his lap and wiped away her tears. “I’m pretty tired, sweet pea. I need to take a shower and get a little sleep. Do you want to stay here with me? 

Harper nodded her head and pointed to Shannon. “Shannon has to stay, too.” Daryl and Shannon smiled at one another. “I think that’s a great idea, baby.”


	9. Chapter 9

Daryl slept until past noon. He didn’t have the energy, nor did he want to talk about what happened in front of Harper. Even though Shannon and Harper had broken sleep during the night, they still were awake by ten. They snuck out of bed quietly so Daryl could sleep as long as he needed. 

They went to the kitchen to make some breakfast. “You know what we should do?” Shannon asked Harper. “We should have a snack and make a big meal for your daddy. Whatcha think?”

Harper excitedly agreed. “We should make his favorite stuff.” 

Shannon brought over a glass of juice for each of them as well as a couple of cereal bars. “Tell me what all your dad likes to eat.”

Shannon and Harper worked together while they listened to music and danced around the kitchen. Daryl woke up to the happiest sounds and the most amazing smells drifting down the hall to his room. He padded down the hall, pulling on a t-shirt as he went. He leaned against the entryway to the kitchen and watched Shannon and Harper dancing to My Sharona. They were laughing and shaking their butts and bouncing all over the place. He had a mile-wide smile on his face. His girl - his girls - were having the time of their lives, completely free and happy, but most of all, they clearly loved one another. 

Shannon and Harper ended their dance with a grand twirl and Shannon screamed when she saw Daryl. “You scared me half to death!” she laughed, clutching her hand over her heart. “And, you weren’t supposed to see that!” 

“Sure I was. You, um, you’ve got some decent moves,” Daryl chuckled. He started to lean in to kiss her, not thinking about Harper being right there until she tugged on his shirt. 

“Daddy! Me and Shannon made you lunch!” Harper was wound up and bouncing. “We made your favorite stuff!” Daryl picked her up and she planted a sloppy, wet kiss on his cheek. “C’mon, daddy. It’s time to eat.”

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Merle and Andrea left with Aaron and Eric when Daryl got home. They went to help them get everything unloaded and get the baby settled. Andrea, Merle, and Aaron carried everything into the living room to be sorted later. 

“Goddamn!” Merle huffed. “You and Daryl are some kind of Tetris wizards or some shit. I ain’t never seen so much stuff packed into my truck.”   
“Well, Daryl said he wanted to make sure that we had everything we could possibly need to last us for a good long time. After the things we saw out there, there’s no way any of us are going anywhere near downtown in the near future. We’re really glad that we had Daryl with us and for him making sure that we got enough formula and diapers. I swear, the guy is some kind of math genius or something.” 

Andrea offered to stay and help get things washed and organized, but Aaron and Eric insisted that she and Merle had done more than enough. “We want you all to come over this weekend. We’re making dinner to celebrate our new family and to thank you for all of your help in making this happen.” They walked Andrea and Merle to the door and firmed up their dinner plans for Saturday evening. 

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Daryl sat back in his chair and groaned because of his painfully full belly. Shannon and Harper outdid themselves. They made Salisbury steak with gravy, mashed potatoes, skillet corn, green beans, and cornbread. Seeing the glazed-over look on Daryl’s face made Shannon even happier that her Nana taught her how to cook. She spent a great deal of time with her Nana because things at home were not always safe. Nana always made her happy and made her feel loved, even when her own mother wasn’t capable of it. 

“We made dessert, too, but I figure we can dig into that later,” Shannon winked. “Why don’t you and Harper go and watch some TV while I clean up? It looks like the sun is finally coming out. Maybe we can all go for a walk later if you’re up for it.” 

Daryl told Harper to go pick out a movie for them to watch. He wanted to properly thank her for the meal and for the way she was with Harper. As soon as Harper was out of the kitchen, Daryl grabbed Shannon and pulled her onto his lap. “Thank you for all of this. The food was incredible, and thank you for being so amazing with Harper.” Shannon glowed. She was happy that he was pleased. He slipped his hand just under her shirt and allowed his fingers to trace over her soft skin. “C’mere, sweetheart.” He wrapped his other arm around her and pulled her in for a kiss. She kissed him eagerly, thrusting her tongue into his mouth, surprising him so much that he chuckled. Shannon understood that they only had seconds before Harper would bust in on them, so she wanted to make the most of the time they had. She threaded her fingers into his hair on each side of the back of his head, lightly scratching his scalp.

They pulled away when they heard Harper’s bare feet running toward the kitchen. Shannon stood up and straightened her shirt. She leaned over as if she was about to take his plate. “You’re making me want you, too.” She said it just loud enough for him to hear and she winked as she started to clear the table. 

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Daryl was still tired from his run with Aaron and Eric and was nodding off early that evening. “Hey,” Shannon nudged. They were on the couch together and Daryl’s head was on her shoulder. Harper was cuddled into Shannon’s opposite side. Since everyone’s attention was on the movie that was playing, Shannon kissed the top of his head. “You should go to bed. You’re exhausted.” Daryl yawned and rubbed his eyes. “Seriously, go get some sleep. I’ll tuck Harper in.”

“Will you be ok with Shannon tucking you in, sweet pea. I’m really tired.” 

Harper nodded and reached for a hug. “Night-night, daddy. I love you.” 

“I love you, too, angel. Sleep tight.”

Shannon woke up sometime in the middle of the night needing to pee. She finished up and started making her way down the dark hall back to her room, but a noise stopped her. She went to Daryl’s door and listened for a minute. She lightly tapped her knuckles on his door and listened for a minute longer. He didn’t respond but continued making sounds that she couldn’t quite decipher. She inched his door open and listened for another few seconds to make sure that she wasn’t walking in on a potentially embarrassing situation. 

Daryl had a worried expression on his face and a thin sheen of sweat covered his skin. He mumbled and thrashed around. Shannon went to his bedside and sat down. She gently swiped away the strands of hair that were stuck to his face. 

“Daryl,” she whispered. The worried look on his face concerned her. He didn’t get a chance to talk about how things were in town, but she knew that it had been bad. He groaned louder and seemed to be wincing away from something. “Daryl, hey, wake up. It’s me, honey. You’re home and you’re safe.” Shannon stroked his face gingerly with her fingertips. Daryl thrashed more, throwing his hands out in front of him. His left hand caught her cheek and her teeth painfully collided with the tender flesh inside of her mouth. Shannon flinched only for a moment and then grabbed both of his wrists. “Daryl, you need to wake up. You’re home, in your bed, and you’re safe.” 

Finally, her voice broke through and Daryl opened his eyes and started to blink heavily. “Shannon? You’re here?

“Yeah, honey. You’re safe. Everything’s ok. You were having a nightmare.”

He let out a shaky breath and sat up, pulling her into his arms. She felt his heart racing and the way that he was shaking and knew that it had been awful. She held him and rubbed her hand up and down his back. “I’m here, baby. I’m right here.”

After a while, Daryl finally pulled back and looked at her. “Did I wake you?”  
“No, no. I was going back to bed after I went to the bathroom and I heard you. I came in to check on you and woke you up. Are you ok? Do you want to talk about it?”

Daryl shook his head and noticed that Shannon was rubbing the inside of her cheek with her tongue. “Did I hurt you, sweetheart?”

“I’m ok. Everything is ok, now. Don’t worry about it.”

“Shit. Shannon, I’m so sorry. I would never hurt you intentionally.” She laid her palm against his jaw and looked into his eyes and assured him that he had nothing to worry about. 

“I know that you would never hurt me, D. You were acting out because of a bad dream.”

Daryl pulled her back into his arms. “Will you stay with me?” He sounded small and afraid and it wasn’t anything that she was ever used to hearing from him. He was still trembling and he obviously needed comfort.

“Of course, I will, baby. I’m here and I’m not going anywhere.” He sagged with relief against her. She kissed the top of his head repeatedly and allowed him to take all of the comfort from her that he needed. 

Eventually, she crawled over the top of him and settled in on what was becoming her side of his bed. “Come here. I’ll keep you safe tonight.” Daryl laid his head on her shoulder and sighed as she started running her fingers through his hair. 

It felt so good being in her arms. She was warm and soft and gentle. The rhythmic rise and fall of her chest eased him into a state of peacefulness. Something finally occurred to him and it made him smile. “So, baby, huh?”

“What?” Shannon asked, perplexed.

“You called me baby. I like it.” 

Shannon laughed, a little embarrassed. “Go to sleep, Daryl.”


	10. Chapter 10

“Aaron, Eric, dinner was incredible,” Shannon complimented. She was holding baby Nora and Daryl was suppressing laughter as Harper glared at her with pure jealousy. Harper was the only little girl in the whole Dixon world and she wasn’t sure that she liked sharing the spotlight. 

“Hey, sweet pea. You know that you’re my most favorite girl in the whole wide world, dontcha?” Daryl scooped her up and kissed her cheek. “Besides, the baby is smelly and I think Shannon is gonna have to change her diaper.” Harper giggled, covering her mouth with her small hands. “That’s my girl. Mr. Aaron said that he was ready to take you to feed and brush the horses. Do you still want to?” Harper excitedly agreed.

It was a nice evening, so everyone went to the front porch to sit and enjoy the peace of the countryside and the setting sun. 

“You guys have a beautiful home and this view is amazing,” Andrea said to Eric. Daryl and Shannon agreed. 

“Thank you. Aaron and I were always so happy here. I know it’s selfish to say it, and I don’t mean that I’m glad it happened the way that it did, but I’m glad that we get to live out here all the time now.”

“I know whatcha mean. Livin’ out here has been good for all of us. Harper is learnin’ all about livin’ off of the land and about all the different animals that she never got to hear or see in the city. I woke her up the other night so she could come out and listen to some owls that were in the backyard,” Daryl explained. 

“I got a crash course in gardening,” Shannon laughed. “Harper saved my butt, though. She showed me just what to do.” 

Merle paced the length of the porch and back, over and over, talking to the baby. At only six weeks old, she’d been through so many changes and losses already. It was heartbreaking. Aaron and Eric confessed that she hadn’t been sleeping well. They assumed that it was because she missed her mother and that everything smelled and felt different. She was doing somewhat better, but getting her on a regular nighttime schedule was a challenge. Merle had the magic touch with babies. He would often beat Daryl getting to Harper and would have her back down in no time. He was the baby whisperer as far as Daryl was concerned.

“You don’t have to walk her all night, Merle. I can take her if you want,” Eric offered. Merle scowled and held the baby even closer. 

“Me and this little nugget are bondin’. You just leave us be.” The look in Andrea’s eyes was clear, she was madly in love, and seeing her big, strong man all gooey over a baby had her ovaries screaming. It was the worst possible time to have a baby, she knew, but the heart wants what the heart wants. She could just see Merle with a son, teaching him all about being self-sufficient and how to appreciate what nature gave you. She could see their son growing into a strong man with a huge heart. 

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Shannon and Daryl were out for a walk under the bright full moon. Harper was out like a light after brushing and feeding all of the horses. Aaron said that the horses all loved her and that she was a natural. He even asked if it would be ok to start teaching her how to ride. Daryl was all for it. With the future looking bleak as far as things returning to normal, knowing how to ride a horse would be an infinitely useful skill. 

Daryl was quiet tonight. He was thinking about how life for all of them was profoundly changed forever. It wasn’t a bad thing, it was just different. He was worried about the horde that came after him, Aaron, and Eric as they left town. He hoped that they found something more distracting than a huge, loud pickup truck and that they hadn’t ambled in their direction. 

Shannon stopped and tugged his hand. “Hey, you,” she slid her other arm around his waist and pressed herself against his hard body. “You’re a million miles away. Anything you wanna talk about?” 

Daryl shook his head and draped his arms over her shoulders. “Nah. Sorry, for letting my thoughts run wild. Everything’s ok.”

“Daryl,” Shannon looked at him sternly. “You’re full of shit. What’s bothering you?”

He sighed and laid his chin on top of her head. “I didn’t want to say anything, but the town is completely overrun with those dead things. I had to take some of them down to get us out of there. I knew some of them.”

“Jesus, Daryl, baby… Why didn’t you say something? That’s a lot to carry around and not talk about.”

She felt him chuckle and he rubbed his hands over her shoulders. “You called me ‘baby’ again.”

“You’re an ass,” she laughed. “Seriously. Are you ok?”

“Yeah. I just needed to process it, I guess. I’ll tell you, Merle, and Andrea about it soon.” He took a small step back and looked down at her big brown eyes. She gave him a quick bob of her head and a reassuring smile. “Hmmm,” Daryl furrowed his brow and tilted his head slightly. “There seems to be something on your lip.” Shannon started to inhale breath to ask what it was when Daryl framed her face with his big, warm hands. He dipped down and crashed his lips against hers, causing her to let out a surprised grunt. Daryl didn’t hesitate. He’d been longing for this all day and nothing was going to stop him now. Shannon’s lips were full and soft and every time he kissed her, his stomach dropped. He’d never felt anything like it before. Every time he kissed her, it was like the first time all over again. 

In no time, Daryl had her backed up against a tree and things were reaching a boiling point. Shannon shoved her hands under his shirt and across his chest and then raked her nails down his back. The weak-sounding moan that came from Daryl surprised them both, but not enough for either of them to stop. So far, they had only kissed and there had been lots of that. Daryl couldn’t stop himself tonight, though. He tugged her head back, gently, and worked his way down her neck with wet, open-mouthed kisses. He felt her chest heaving against him as he sucked little purple marks, most of them would be able to be hidden by her hair. 

Shannon grabbed his belt loops and pulled him even closer, as if it was possible, and moaned when he began to nibble from one collar bone to the other. She wove her fingers into his hair and balled her fists, tugging his hair. He slowly dragged his tongue from the dip at the bottom of her neck back up to her lips. They moaned together when their lips met again. “Maybe we should take this home,” Shannon rasped. Daryl didn’t think he’d ever heard a better idea in his life.

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Shannon laughed uncontrollably as Daryl all but dragged her back to the house. The second she suggested that they take their activities home, he grabbed her hand and they took off sprinting. 

They both were laughing when they opened the door with the intention of heading straight to Daryl’s room. What they didn’t expect was to see Merle pacing around the living room with Harper in his arms. Andrea had a worried expression that immediately set Daryl on edge. Both of their laughter cut off like a flipped switch. 

“Did she have a bad dream or something?” Daryl asked as he went to Merle. Shannon was right behind him. She was as concerned about the little girl as Daryl. Harper heard her daddy and turned her head to look at him. Daryl knew as soon as he saw her cheeks that she had a fever. 

“She woke up crying a few minutes ago. Andrea checked her temperature and got her to take some Tylenol,” Merle explained. “She doesn’t like it too much, so Uncle Merle fixed her up with a popsicle.” Merle kept his cheek rested on the top of her head and rubbed the tips of his fingers over her back. 

“What’s wrong, jellybean?” Shannon asked. She reached to feel her forehead and winced at how hot she felt. “Do you want to take a bath? Maybe it’ll help break your fever?” Harper gave her the tiniest, most pitiful head shake. “Ok. Would you like to lie down in my bed with me for a little while?” Harper clutched her uncle and hid her face. Uncle Merle was the best cuddle buddy when she didn’t feel well. She was right where she wanted to be.

Harper finally allowed Merle to sit in his recliner and rock her while her favorite cartoon played. Daryl got her to drink some ice water and brought her favorite stuffed bear that she always slept with. He sat between Andrea and Shannon on the couch and kept a close eye on his baby girl. He was a little jealous that she didn’t want to snuggle with him, but she and her Uncle Merle were best buddies so he couldn’t begrudge his brother too much. 

“Hey, Andrea, I just wanted to say thanks for takin’ care of munchkin. She thinks an awful lot of you.” Daryl smirked in a shy way that made Andrea’s heart happy. She and Daryl hadn’t had a lot of time to get to know each other well and she hoped that she had his approval. Daryl and Merle were close, so it meant a great deal to her to make sure that she and Daryl were friends. “I mean, we all think the world of ya. You make that asshole happier than I’ve ever seen him.”

Andrea cracked up and playfully slapped Daryl’s shoulder. “He’s not an asshole. Well, most of the time anyway.” Merle growled lowly and shot her a warning glare. He’d make sure she made up for that later. Andrea just laughed at his mock anger. “And, Harper is a sweet baby angel. She only cried a little when she woke up and she took medicine for me like a champ.”

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Shannon was all over the place, trying to get comfortable and fall asleep, but it just wasn’t happening. They all had a great big ‘oh shit’ moment when Merle asked Daryl if he had any idea what could be wrong with Harper. There was a notable, collective silence as they all realized that it was possible that she had the virus at the same time. Daryl stayed quiet until he just couldn’t stand it any longer and said he was taking Harper and they were going to bed. 

Shannon tugged his shirt, lightly. “Are you ok?” she whispered. He tried to smile but didn’t reach his eyes. “She’s going to be fine. Her fever broke, right?” Daryl nodded. He’d checked it before taking her from Merle. “Kids get random fevers sometimes. Try to get some sleep. If you need any help, come get me.” Daryl managed a real smile that time and kissed her goodnight. 

She couldn’t take it anymore. She was torturing herself by lying there not knowing how her little jelly bean was. Or Daryl for that matter. She couldn’t think of a reason why Daryl should have to take care of her alone. He needed to rest and she knew that he wouldn’t as long as he was the only person keeping a close eye on his little girl.

She immediately noticed the relief wash over him when she peeked her head inside his door. He was sitting against the headboard and Harper was sprawled out beside him. “I couldn’t sleep. I was too worried about you both,” she quietly confessed. Daryl smirked and patted the spot on the opposite side of Harper. “Thank you. It means a lot that you’re here for us.”

Shannon got into bed and stroked her fingers across the little girl’s forehead, swiping her blonde hair from it and checking to make sure that she was still cool. She gave Daryl a reassuring smile and squeezed his arm before going back to running her fingers through Harper’s soft hair again. “I want to help you take care of her.” Daryl felt his stomach flip when she said that. It seemed like he was falling for her, even more, every day.


	11. Chapter 11

4:12 am

Harper cried as Shannon knelt at the side of the bathtub and squeezed tepid water down her back. Her fever returned and it was high enough to scare them. Shannon stripped her down and got her into a bath as soon as they got more medicine in her. Daryl was talking with Merle who came running as soon as he heard his little pumpkin crying. 

“I’m gonna take her to see Eric,” Merle asserted. “He was some kind of nurse who was sort of a doctor, but not.” Daryl rolled his eyes, trying not to let his frustration show. He wasn’t mad at anyone, he was worried and that made his nerves raw. 

“Are you trying to say that he is a nurse practitioner?” Daryl asked. Merle scoffed and gave his usual ‘whatever’ response that he gave when anyone corrected him. It was a habit he’d had since he was a kid and it drove Daryl insane. Merle was back to talking to Eric on the phone. Fortunately, the phones were still somehow working, albeit sporadically. Things were working in their favor at this god awful hour, and they were going to be able to get Harper checked out. 

“Eric was awake with the baby. He said to bring Harper out and he would check her out.” There was a somewhat heated argument about Merle taking her instead of Daryl. Merle thought that Daryl and Shannon should try to get a little sleep while they could since neither of them had slept yet. Daryl told Merle that they would all sleep when they could, but he didn’t want to be apart from his daughter. Either way, they agreed that one of the men absolutely had to stay at the house with Andrea and Shannon.

“Woah,” Shannon said, carrying Harper into the kitchen. “Daryl and I will take her. If Daryl goes, I go.” Shannon was normally an easygoing girl, but she was worried about Harper and Daryl and she wasn’t about to stay behind and not be there to take care of them. Daryl and Merle gaped at her tone, but she paid them no mind. Harper had asked for something cold to drink, so she was busy getting it for her. 

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After a quick exam, Eric diagnosed Harper with an ear infection. “The last information we received before everything fell apart was that in almost every case of the virus, the rash was the first symptom. She has a few swollen lymph nodes, which is a normal reaction. I’m going to look through the antibiotics I have and see if any that will work for her. Does she have any drug allergies?” Daryl shook his head and watched his daughter wrap herself around Shannon.

“You were such a good girl,” Daryl praised as he sat down beside Shannon. “I’m proud of you, sweet pea.” He kissed her little hand and winked at her. Her sleepy eyes were glassy and her cheeks were pink from the fever that refused to completely break. Shannon studied his eyes and the way his features softened when he talked to his baby girl. One of the things that she most admired about him was the patience he had with her. It didn’t matter what she did, Daryl was always calm and he always kept his tone soft and loving when he spoke to her. It was no small wonder why she was such a daddy’s girl.

Aaron tapped on the door and stepped into the spare bedroom Eric had used as an exam room. “Hey, I made some coffee. Thought you both could use some.” Daryl looked at Shannon who nodded, almost pleadingly. They were exhausted. Neither of them had been able to get any sleep for worrying about whether or not Harper had the virus. 

Aaron offered Daryl a seat at the table while he poured coffee into mugs for them. “Can I ask you a question?” Daryl asked. 

“Of course.” Aaron set the mugs on the table and watched as Daryl added cream and sugar to Shannon’s. It was funny how such a simple task made Daryl’s happiness shine through. That tiny act was done with love. He knew exactly how much of each to add to her coffee. 

“Merle told me that you’re a therapist,” Daryl started. “Shannon has been having nightmares and panic attacks since this all started. She had issues with anxiety before this. What can I do to help her?” Aaron’s eyes were soft and the smile on his face was genuine. Daryl ducked his head, shyly and his cheeks pinked. “I want to help her. I hate seeing her struggle.”

“Well, the fact that you care so much is already a massive help. I would keep doing what you’re doing. Let her know that you are there for her and that her feelings are valid. A lot of the time, people are well-meaning, but they try to marginalize their emotions. They say things like, “it’s not that bad, or, “have you tried ignoring it?” and it only makes things worse.”

Daryl scowled, shaking his head. “Jesus. People really say that shit?”

“Unfortunately, yes. Letting her know that the way she feels is real and you are there for her is what will help her the most. There’s a tool that I use and a lot of the people I see use and it helps a lot. It’s the 5-4-3-2-1 coping technique. Have her acknowledge five things she can see around her, four things she can touch, three things she can hear, two things she can smell, and one thing she can taste. The sooner she can start doing these things when she feels a panic attack coming on, the easier it will be for her to get on top of the fear and take control of it. Here, I’ll write it down for you.” 

Daryl was shaking Aaron’s hand and thanking him for all of his help when Eric, Shannon, and Harper came into the kitchen. “Hey, sorry. I was about to head back with your coffee.”

“It’s ok. We’re all fixed up now,” Shannon told him with a bright smile. “Eric found some medicine that will work for her and now she’s ready for that purple popsicle.” 

Merle was pacing the floor like an expectant father. Andrea smirked over at him from the couch. She thought it was adorable how much fussed over Harper. “I’m sure she’s fine, Merle. Eric will make sure that she’s taken care of.” He stopped and rubbed his hands roughly down his face, letting out a long sigh.

“Yeah, I know. I just love the hell out of that kid. Maybe I feel like I need to step up more since her mother walked out. I just want her to grow up knowing that none of that was her or Daryl’s fault. I don’t want her to ever feel like she’s not worth being loved, ya know.”

Andrea went to him and put her arms around his neck. “She’s a lucky little girl to have you and Daryl setting such a good example for her. Shannon really stepped up, too. She adores that little girl.” Andrea rubbed the back of her fingers against the scruff on Merle’s cheek and gazed into his eyes. “You’re a damn good man, Merle Dixon.” She kissed his lips softly and urged him into the kitchen so she could make him some breakfast. 

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As soon as they were home, Harper was wrapped up in her uncle’s arms and there was nowhere else she wanted to be. No matter how bad she felt, he could always make her laugh. He was even able to get her to eat a little breakfast even though she didn’t feel like eating. 

“You two sit down,” Andrea insisted. Daryl and Shannon were both blinking heavily, and their dark, puffy eyes told just how tired they were. “You need to eat something and then get some sleep. Merle and I will take care of her.” Daryl gave her an appreciative nod. 

Shannon and Daryl slowly made their way down the hall after they ate. Shannon started to go into her room, but Daryl grabbed her hand. “I was thinkin’,” Daryl stammered, nervously. “I mean, you don’t have to, but would you wanna maybe sleep in my bed?” She gave him an endearing smile and nodded. 

Daryl went to his dresser and pulled out a pair of shorts for her to wear. “I figured you might be more comfortable in these than those pants.” Shannon glanced down, completely forgetting that she was still dressed. “I’ll be back in a minute.” He kissed her forehead and then went to the bathroom to change. When he came back, she was already beginning to drift off. He eased into bed beside her and pulled her close. His lips were soft against her temple and he stayed that way for a minute.

“I appreciate everything you did for us today. Thank you,” Daryl whispered as he combed his fingers through her hair. “I thought it was pretty hot when you went all Mama Bear on Merle.” Shannon snickered and covered her face with her hand. “Sleep well, sweetheart.”

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They slept until late in the afternoon, neither of them losing contact from the other. Shannon slept through Merle coming in to tell Dary that he and Andrea were taking Harper to an ice cream social at one of his prepper friend’s house. Harper’s fever broke and she was already feeling a lot better after getting a few doses of antibiotics. Daryl agreed to her going and thanked Merle for taking care of her. 

“We’ll be out late. They’re cooking out and having a bonfire, so take advantage of it.” Merle smirked and clapped his brother’s shoulder. Daryl wanted to roll his eyes or scoff at Merle’s insinuation, but this could be the perfect time for him and Shannon to get closer, to take the next step. 

He watched her as she slept. Her long, honey-brown hair cascaded from the pillow and over her shoulder. Her plump lips were slightly parted and every now and then a soft sound would pass through them. She was the most beautiful woman in every way. He watched her for some time, thinking to himself that he was a lucky bastard to have her in his life.

“Hi, beautiful,” Daryl cooed as Shannon started to wake. A shy, sleepy smile grew, lighting up her face. “How’d you sleep?”

“So good. I don’t know what it is about sleeping next to you that makes it so good, but I’m happy about it.”

Daryl kissed the palm of her hand, staring into her eyes. “Everyone is gone out to a cookout,” he started, placing wet, open-mouthed kisses down her wrist. “They won’t be back until late.”

Shannon’s stomach flipped and she felt a hot tingle that started at the top of her head and shot through her so fast it took her breath. She slipped her hand that was under him, around the back of his neck, and wound her fingers into his hair. Daryl moaned and crashed his lips against hers with bruising force. Daryl rubbed his hand over her hip and down her thigh to her knee and pulled her leg over his. He kissed and sucked all the way down her neck to her shoulder, finding her sweet spot. Shannon let out a breathy moan and reflexively pulled his hair. 

“If this is too fast, just say so,” Daryl breathed out. The tip of his nose brushed across hers and he gazed into her eyes, waiting for her to respond. He wanted to ensure that she knew that he would never push her and that he would never hurt her in any way.

“I don’t want to stop, Daryl. I want to be with you.” Her words took his breath away. He’d never felt a connection like he felt with her. “Please. Daryl, I want you to touch me.”

With a deep growl, Daryl moved them so she was on her back and he was over the top of her. Shannon grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled it over his head. Daryl held her head with one hand and his other tentatively eased under the tank top she was wearing. He noticed that she was breathing hard, maybe a little too hard. “Don’t be scared, sweetheart. I’ll never hurt you. I promise.”

“I know. It’s just been a while.” 

Daryl smiled and rubbed his hand down to her face. “It’s just me, darlin’. You’re safe with me.”

Shannon pulled him into a kiss that set him on fire. She didn’t want to have hang-ups or fears with him. Daryl was far too good of a man for her to be afraid in any way. She wanted him and everything he could give her. “I’m ok. I want you.” She grabbed the bottom of her tank top and pulled it off as fast as she could. Daryl couldn’t suppress the moan that came from him at the sight of her bare chest. 

“Jesus, Shan. They’re pierced. I never knew how fuckin’ hot that could be.” He buried his face in her neck and made his way down to those amazingly tempting nipples. He looked up at her as he swirled his tongue around each areola and then dragged it over each of the pert pink nubs. Shannon shuddered beneath him and it was an exhilarating sensation for him. Her breasts fit perfectly in his hands and he couldn’t stop glancing back at the bars going through her nipples. His hand went to the waistband of her shorts and he shot her a questioning look.

“Is it ok?” Shannon was deeply touched by the way he was so attentive to her needs. She nodded, giving him the ok to keep going. She didn’t want to stop, not for anything. Daryl sat back on his knees and hooked his fingers into her shorts and slid them down her legs. She was only in her panties now. He gently nudged her legs apart and kissed her inner thigh. The feeling was almost overwhelming to her. He made his way to where she wanted to be touched most. She tensed and her head shot up when she felt his mouth moving over the silky fabric of her panties.

“What…What’re you doing?” Daryl stopped and looked up at her, perplexed. 

“You mean no one’s ever gone down on you before?” He was incredulous. How could a guy turn this down?

A fierce blush lit up her cheeks and she shook her head. 

Well, now, Daryl thought. This was something he knew that he did well. He just had to make sure she was ok with it. “Oh, Shannon. Darlin’, I want to show you how good it feels. Can I do that for you?” Her cheeks were still pink, but she nodded to his request. 

Daryl pulled her panties to the side and slowly dragged the flat of his tongue from the bottom to the top, and then rolled his tongue over her clit. Shannon slammed her hands onto the bed and dug her heels into the mattress. Daryl had to gently push her legs apart once more and he looked up to make sure that she was still alright. “Breathe, sweetheart.”

Daryl took his slow, sweet time using his mouth to take her over the edge into sweet oblivion. He laid his head on her belly and held her as she shook and jolted with aftershocks from the best orgasm she’d ever had. 

Daryl shimmied out of his sleep pants and underwear just to get them out of the way. He started to pull her panties down her legs and stopped to make sure that she was still ok. 

“God, yes, Daryl. I want you so much,” she sighed. He slipped them off and threw them over his shoulder. Daryl crawled over the top of her, kissing her as he went. He couldn’t get enough of the way she tasted and the way her skin felt against his. Finally, their lips met once more and Daryl moved his hand between her legs. He parted her with his fingers and pressed one against her opening. Shannon pleaded for him to keep going. 

“I won’t stop, sweetheart,” Daryl promised. “I’m gonna make it so good, honey.” He brushed his lips over hers again. “I swear it.” As soon as he felt she was ready, he slipped in a second finger and slowly worked her into a frenzy. He hooked his fingers and rocked his hand, the heel rubbed against her clit while the pads of his fingers pressed against her G-spot. “Just go with it, honey. Don’t be afraid. It’s ok to let go.” 

Somehow, everything that Daryl said was exactly what she needed to hear. She dug her nails into his shoulders and screamed as another explosive orgasm consumed her. Somewhere in the distance, she could hear Daryl talking to her. Slowly, the whooshing sound in her ears ceased and she heard Daryl whispering “good girl” and “that’s my girl” over and over. When she was able, she opened her eyes and found him smiling down at her. 

“Are you ready?” 

She put her hand against his cheek and nodded. “Yes, I’m ready. So ready.” She felt him as he reached between their bodies and stroked his length a few times. He pressed the tip against her and looked into her eyes for assurance once more. “Do it, baby,” she whispered. The feeling of him easing into her was like nothing either of them had ever felt. It went well beyond sexual gratification. There was a current of emotions that flowed like electricity between them. 

Shannon gasped and gripped him with all of her might. Words couldn’t begin to define the overwhelming amalgam of emotions and sensations that bound them together at this moment. 

“I’ve got you, sweetheart,” Daryl rasped as he kissed her. “Never gonna let you go.” Daryl kept his movements slow and gentle and Shannon was completely enraptured. She didn’t know what kind of magic he was working on her, but she was already beginning to feel the build-up to another climax. She whined and writhed under him, wanting more, but unable to make her brain engage her mouth to tell him. With the way Daryl was making her feel and the sound of him moaning in her ear, she was honestly in shock that she could remember to breathe. But then, Daryl thrust a little harder, hitting her deeper, and her eyes rolled back in her head and a violent shiver shot through her like a lightning bolt. It awakened something in her because then next thing Daryl knew, Shannon had her legs wrapped tightly around his waist. 

Daryl let out a long, low groan that broke the final barrier of modesty and, in a move that stunned him, Shannon flipped them so she was on top. She sat up and raised all the way up on her knees. When she sank back down his length, their simultaneous moans were loud enough to rattle the windows. His hands went from her hips to her breasts, squeezing them with a degree of restraint. 

“Oh, God, Shannon. ‘S so good,” Daryl breathed out. The expression on his face only spurred her on. She rolled her hips and he was sure that nothing had ever felt better in his entire life. “Yeah, sweetheart. Just like that.” He grabbed her hips and thrust his hips in time with her movements. 

“Oh, ffffffffffuuuccckkk!” Shannon fell forward and planted her hands flat against his chest. Her hair fell over her shoulders and tickled Daryl’s arms. 

He gathered her hair and held it in one of his fists. “C’mon, baby girl. I know ya got another one in ya.” He wasn’t wrong. It had been building from the moment he entered her. “Let me have it.”

He felt her movements beginning to falter and her walls started to constrict. Daryl turned her onto her back once again, this time hooking her knees over his forearms. He thrust harder and faster and studied her face to make certain that she was ok with it. She was more than good with it. He slowed for a second and she screamed for more. “Ain’t stoppin’, darlin’. You gonna cum for me again?”

“Yes! Oh my God!” Her wide eyes met him for a split second before they slammed shut and her head snapped back. Her back bowed and her mouth worked soundlessly until, at last, it felt as if every molecule in her body exploded all at once. 

Without having taken a moment to talk about birth control, and without having taken a second to put on a condom, Daryl somehow managed to remember and pull out in time. Shannon had one hand on her forehead and the other squeezed Daryl’s forearm. Her chest heaved with her hard, gasping breaths. Daryl let out a series of strained, stuttered moans as he watched his cum spurt onto her belly. 

Daryl held himself over the top of her until his arms started to shake. Shannon let out a weak moan of protest when he withdrew from her. He chuckled as he grabbed his t-shirt off the floor and cleaned off her stomach. He discarded the shirt and dropped down next to her, both of them still trying to catch their breath. 

“Are you ok, Shan?” Daryl asked, nervously. She hadn’t moved or made a sound, save for her heavy breathing. The biggest, most content smile lit up her whole face. 

“More than,” she sighed. “Are you ok?” Daryl let out a quiet sigh now that he knew she was alright. She lazily turned onto her side to face him. “That was amazing.” Her tone was gleeful and melodic and it made Daryl mirror her happy expression. 

“I guess we need to have a talk with Harper, huh?” Daryl mused.

“Yeah, we probably should. Do you think she’ll be ok with us? Shannon thought that she would be, but there was always that inkling of doubt that would linger in the back of her mind until it was proved otherwise. 

She noticed the way that Daryl was grinning and chewing his bottom lip at the same time. His eyes sparkled and it caused a fluttering in her belly that caught her breath. “I was thinkin’, if you want to, you could move in here with me.” The way he kept looking down and nervously chewed on his lip was endearing. “I mean, if that’s too fast, you… I don’t want to make you feel like I’m pushing you,” he rambled.

Shannon laughed as she pushed herself against him, catching his lips in a scorching kiss. “Daryl, baby, stop talking. Just try to get me out of your bed.” They laughed together as she crawled on top of him, kissing his neck.


	12. Chapter 12

There wasn’t a single part of Daryl that wanted to get out of bed, but his stomach was growling like a beast. They hadn’t eaten since breakfast and that was hours ago. He and Shannon fell asleep after the third time they made love. She was sleeping so peacefully and he didn’t want to disturb her. Daryl glanced at the clock on the nightstand and saw that it was nearly 8 pm. No wonder his stomach was protesting. He slowly eased his way from underneath her and headed to the kitchen.

Shannon was sitting up and yawning loudly when Daryl returned. He stopped in the doorway and watched with the biggest, dopey grin on his face. She lazily rubbed her fingers over her scalp and then shook out her messy hair. She had the sheet pulled up, covering her chest and her bare skin had his dick twitching in his pants. 

“Hey, beautiful.” Shannon blushed and covered her bashful smile with her hand. “You hungry?” 

Shannon nodded and started to get out of bed to help him and Daryl pointedly looked at the floor. “No! No, no, no, nope! If you get out of bed and I see your sexy, naked body I’ll be responsible for you not getting to eat because I’m throwin’ you around the bed again.”

Shannon bit her bottom lip and quirked an eyebrow and let the sheet drop to her waist. Daryl gasped at the sight of her bare breasts and those perky nipples with the bars going through them. “Aren’t your arms tired from holding those plates, baby?” 

“Huh?” Daryl shook his head, snapping out of his trance. 

“Food, babe. Are we gonna eat or are you just gonna stand there and stare at my boobs?”

“I don’t even know how to answer that.” 

Shannon couldn’t help but laugh at his befuddled expression. “Ain’t funny,” he huffed. “It’s an impossible decision.” She hooked her finger and motioned for him to come to her. As soon as he was close enough, she took the plates so he could get into bed beside her. Out of consideration for his dilemma, she pulled the sheet back over her chest so he didn’t have to make any major decisions.

“Awww! What’s that for?” Shannon chuckled. Daryl pouted his bottom lip and gave her puppy eyes. He laid his head on her shoulder and tried to peek into the sheet. “You perv!” 

“Nah, I just know when a gorgeous woman is in front of me.”

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Daryl missed her and it was ridiculous, he knew. She was just in the shower, and they’d had the whole day together. He kept glancing over at the partially open door while thrumming his fingers on his thigh. If she didn’t want him to come in she surely would have closed the door all the way. 

He decided to take a chance and see how it went. He crept into the bathroom and watched as she stood under the spray with her head held back and her eyes closed. As quietly as he was able, he opened the large glass door and stepped in. He grabbed her around the waist and crashed his lips against her neck. 

“I missed ya,” he rasped between kisses. She always thought that Daryl was one of the sweetest guys she’d ever known, but since they started dating, he was even more than she could have imagined. He was always doing little things for her to make her smile and feel special. He left notes on her pillow when he woke up before her and surprised her with knee-buckling kisses when they had a moment alone and the way he held her hand every night when they watched TV. 

“I’ve only been away from you for five minutes, baby.” She let out a small sigh and ran her fingers lightly over his sides to his back causing him to shiver.

“Five minutes too long.” He framed her face with his hands and the softness of his expression melted her heart. “If you’d rather be alone to finish up your shower, I’ll leave you be.”

She caught his lower lip between her teeth and tugged it gently. “Don’t you dare even try to leave. I want every second with you I can get.” Daryl froze for a second. He’d never had a woman who compared to Shannon. She’d say things like that and he never doubted her sincerity. It blew his mind. Now, it was she that was sucking little purple marks along his neck, making her way down his chest. Her hands roamed over the width of his shoulder and along the defined muscles of his arms. An embarrassingly weak moan escaped him when she bit his nipple with just the right amount of pressure to almost, but not quite, hurt. His breaths were coming out in hard, fast huffs by the time her mouth was near his belly button. He had a horrifying moment when he thought he would laugh because she ran her tongue over his most ticklish spot, but then he felt her hand on his dick and he forgot all about that. 

Shannon was fully on her knees, looking up at him as she stroked his cock. She was biting her lip and had this wicked glimmer sparkling in her eyes. Well, until she lowered her head and ran her tongue from the base and then swirled it around the tip.

There was an audible “thunk” when Daryl’s head fell against the wall. “Sweet Jesus...ahhhhh,” he moaned as she slowly took his length into her mouth. So many thoughts raced through his mind all at once. The foremost thought was that Shannon was really fucking good at what she was doing, yet no one had ever gone down on her until he did. No one had ever treated her right or loved her the way she deserved. 

Shannon took him as far as she could, not quite able to take all of his considerable length. She brought her hand into the mix and stroked him in time with the motion of her mouth. Daryl’s moans and hushed cries pleased her greatly. From the very first moan she heard from him earlier, she knew that nothing had ever turned her on more. She wanted to hear it as much as possible. His fingers wove into her wet hair and he gently held her head while Shannon pulled   
him in and out of her mouth. 

Shannon squealed with surprise as Daryl pulled her to her feet and again when he lifted her. He was breathless and had a fire in his eyes. 

“Wrap your legs around me.” There was desperation in his tone and she felt it in the way his hands gripped her. She linked her ankles behind his back and a muffled ‘oomph’ came from her when his lips crashed against hers. “Oh, Shannon,” he called out as he thrust into her. “I can’t get enough of you.” 

He turned them so she was against the wall and moved a hand to her face. “Keep your eyes open. I need to see you.” He moved slowly and passionately and they both felt things between them moving at the speed of sound. Neither of them wanted to slow anything down. They had known each other for a long time, and it seemed that the end of the world happened, so there was no reason to let doubt creep in. They had each other and they had right now. That was all that mattered.

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The backroads leading out of town

A sliver of moon hung high, surrounded by a million twinkling stars. The automated streetlights and parking lot lights finally stopped turning on. There were very few places left that still had power. The only signs of life were the dead beings that mindlessly roamed around and weeds that were taking over. After Daryl, Aaron, and Eric had a successful run, word had gotten out in the prepper community. There were several more runs into town and some had not been as careful as Daryl was in making sure that they distanced themselves from the walkers before driving the backroads. It started with a few stragglers who spotted trucks moving in and out of those sideroads. Those few stragglers grew into a small gathering that started trickling onto the single-lane asphalt and continued trekking into the surrounding woods. 

Dwight and his family were closest to town, but the group of dead was small and they moved across his land late at night while everyone was sleeping. Somehow, they skirted around the other prepper compounds, but they were still creeping further into the land that they all considered to be safe. 

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Merle noticed that the light in Daryl’s bedroom was off and that Shannon’s room was noticeably empty. He, Andrea, and Harper didn’t make it home until well past midnight. Harper wore herself out playing with the other kids and by the time the bonfire was burning, she was already sleepy. She insisted on staying to make s’mores. The other kids were still playing hard and Harper caught her second wind and they ended up staying later than Merle and Andrea intended. It was too hard not to give in to the little girl. Hearing her squeal with laughter was much easier on their ears than the crying she’d done because she was sick. 

Merle tried to creep into Daryl’s room to let Daryl know that they were home, but his feet tangled in a towel that was dropped on the rug when they carried their lovemaking from the shower to the bed. He didn’t fall, but he stomped his big feet to pull himself out of it. Daryl bolted up and demanded to know what the fuck was going on.

“Shit. Sorry, brother, I tripped. I was trying to sneak in to let ya know that we’re home. Harper is fine and she’s all tucked in.” Shannon hadn’t heard any of the mele and was still out like a light. What she did notice was that Daryl wasn’t pressed up against her any longer and she wiggled about, letting out a whining moan as she sought him out. “You probably oughta get back to that,” Merle chuckled. He stopped when he got to the door and turned back. “Good job, Daryl. She’s a hell of a woman.”

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Shannon was awake before anyone. Yesterday had been one of the best days of her life. She watched Daryl as he slept for a bit, but she felt as if she was really alive for the first time in her life. It was like the world was filled with vibrant new colors and each one was more exquisite than the last. She couldn’t stay in bed any longer. She had to get up and do something to burn off all of the excess excited energy that coursed through her. 

After she quietly got dressed, she went to the kitchen to put on a pot of coffee and try to figure out something to do to help settle her overactive mind. She popped in her earbuds and the next thing she knew, she was pulling out the ingredients to make cinnamon rolls. She’d made them for Daryl before and knew that they were one of his favorite things. In fact, he’d offered to pay her to make them for him on occasion. Of course, she never let him pay her for it. She was flattered that he liked them so much. 

Daryl woke up and found himself alone. He was disappointed that Shannon wasn’t beside him. He wondered if yesterday had been too much, or if she was maybe reconsidering things. Daryl had never been the most confident person, so he never considered that Shannon woke up feeling like she could conquer the world.

He pulled on a pair of pajama pants and went to find her. What he found made him melt. She was facing away from him as she rolled the dough and started cutting it. She had her right foot pressed against the side of her left leg. She was quietly singing along to some happy song that he didn’t know. Every concern and worry that he had a few minutes before completely vanished. Shannon had an aura of happiness around her and it lit up Daryl’s world. He went up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist and started laying a trail of kisses on her neck.

“Mornin’, beautiful,” he rasped with a sleepy voice. “Everything ok? I woke up and you were gone.”

“I’m perfect. I couldn’t sleep any longer, so I thought I would make cinnamon rolls.” 

Daryl continued kissing her neck all over and roaming her body with his hands. “Everyone is still sleeping. Can the cinnamon rolls wait?” 

Shannon let out a breathy moan and nodded. “Help me cut them and put them on the pan. They need to rise again.” 

Within minutes, Daryl was backing Shannon into his bedroom, kissing her feverishly. “Am I being too much? You’d tell me if I was too much, right?” Daryl stammered as he continued kissing her. 

“Mmmm...You’re perfect, baby. Don’t think that I wasn’t thinking about this myself when I was watching you sleep.”

Daryl chuckled, brushing the tip of his nose across hers. “Why were you watchin’ me sleep?” 

“Because you’re fuckin’ adorable.” 

Daryl flipped her onto her back and intertwined his fingers with hers and set to devouring her with his lips. Every kiss, every touch, every breath was desperate. Daryl wound his fingers into her hair on each side of her head and looked down at her. “I can’t believe I get to touch you.” Every part of Shannon felt like it was vibrating so hard she would shatter. No one had ever said anything like that to her. The way he stared down into her eyes and the slight tremble in his voice was unlike anything she’d ever experienced. She was falling hard and fast for Daryl and there was no stopping it. 

“Daryl,” Shannon whimpered. “I’m yours. Only yours.” She didn’t even know where those words came from, but she meant it. If they woke up tomorrow and the world had righted itself, there was nowhere she’d rather be than in his arms. 

They frantically tore at each other’s clothing to get it off and out of the way. The second they were bare, Daryl pushed into her. This was exactly what they both needed. It started slow and gentle, but steadily built to hard and primal. He needed her to feel everything that was inside of him. He laid his forehead against hers, cradling her and alternating between kissing her lips and her fingertips. 

“Cum for me, Shannon. Cum hard for me, baby.” He moved his hands down her thighs and pulled her legs, indicating that he wanted them wrapped around him. Shannon happily complied and linked her ankles right above his ass. “Oh, yeah. Fuck, you feel so good.” His hands went to her hips and he moved her into his deep plunging thrusts. “Come on, darlin’. Squeeze my dick with that sweet pussy.”

For a moment, Shannon was utterly scandalized that the sweet, shy Daryl Dixon she knew could even say those words. At the same time, it was possibly the hottest command ever given. 

“C’mon, Shannon. C’mon. I need it, sweetheart. Cum for me.” 

It happened all at once with very little preamble. There was a little bit of that tightening, tingling sensation before she felt like she was free-falling. She felt herself being moved and then Daryl wrapping his arms around her. He had turned her onto her side and pulled her leg over his. His arms were tight around her middle and one of his hands cupped her breast. His lips were on her neck and his nose was behind her ear. She could hear and feel him breathing and moaning. God, his moaning was the best sound in the world. He was hitting her so deep like this, pounding into her as her pussy gripped and spasmed his turgid length. 

Daryl’s intoxicatingly dirty sounds were stuttered and mixed with hard, fast breathing. He was squeezing her so tightly with his arms that she could feel his heart pounding against her back. “Fuck, girl…I’m gonna cum,” Daryl cried. He pulled out of her and stroked himself to completion, spilling his seed onto her thigh and hip. 

Daryl held her, huffing out hard breaths into her hair. “You’re making me fall for you so hard, Shannon. I can’t stop it, and the thing is, I don’t want to. You’ve worked some kind of magic on me ‘cause I sure wasn’t lookin’ to have these kinds of feelings again.” 

Shannon used her tank top to clean off her hip and turned over so she could look into his beautiful eyes. “Does it scare you?” Her voice was soft and raspy and just the sound of it made his heart flutter wildly. She ran her fingers through his hair, pushing his shaggy bangs out of the way. He stared into her big brown eyes and the softest, sweetest smile began to grow on his face.

“No. I can’t explain it, but it doesn’t. I’ve never felt like this before. It’s gonna sound sappy and I swear if you tell Merle I’ll have to spank your perfect ass.” Shannon laughed and Daryl tried to scowl at her like he meant business, but ended up laughing, too. “I dunno, Shan. It’s just with you, I feel like this is real. Like it’s meant to be. Does it scare you that I feel this way?”

Shannon bit her bottom lip and Daryl could swear that her eyes looked a bit misty. She was shaking her head and he was relieved and elated. “No, Daryl. I’m not scared of anything with you. You make me feel all of the things that I never felt before. All of the good things that you’re supposed to feel when you’re with the right person. I can’t explain it either, but it feels good and it feels right.”

Daryl nuzzled his cheek against the top of her head and just held her for a while. He thought about how everything had changed and wondered if it had been the catalyst that propelled him in this forward direction. Whatever had brought him this joy in a world of darkness and chaos didn’t matter, he decided. All that mattered was that he and Shannon were on the same page and they were happy. He would fight all of hell itself to keep it that way.


	13. Chapter 13

“We’re gonna have to talk to Harper before she catches us with our hands all over each other,” Shannon giggled. She and Daryl finally made it out of bed and he was “helping” her with the cinnamon rolls she started earlier. Daryl’s version of helping was standing behind Shannon and kissing her neck while rubbing his hands all over her ass. 

“Sorry, sweetheart. I just can’t get enough of you. All I want to do is touch you and feel you against me.” 

Shannon turned her head and she had the biggest smile on her face he’d ever seen. “Oh, I’m not complaining. I want to drag you back to the bedroom and have my way with you some more, but I already have a major case of dick limp.” Daryl snorted, shaking his head. “Here,” she said, offering him a blob of cream cheese icing on her fingertip. “Tell me if this needs more vanilla.” Daryl held her tiny wrist in his hand and brought her finger to his mouth. His eyes locked with hers as he slowly licked and sucked the sugary topping from her finger. Shannon’s mouth fell open and she had to choke back a little whine. If he didn’t stop, dick limp or not, she was going to be dragging him somewhere to have her way with him.

“I think it’s perfect just the way it is,” he finally replied. The glazed-over look faded from her face and she snapped out of her dirty thoughts. Before she could say anything, the sound of little feet running up the hall had them both watching for the little blonde torpedo to launch herself at Daryl.

“Hi, Daddy! I went to a party yesterday!” Sure enough, Harper jumped straight into Daryl’s arms and plopped a big, slobbery kiss on his cheek.

“Hey, sweet pea. Did you have a good time?” Before she answered, she reached out for Shannon so she could give her some love, too.

“Uh-huh. There were other kids and I went down this big slide that was in the ground, and then we ate hot dogs, and then we played some more.” The “and thens” went on and on and Daryl and Shannon couldn’t hear enough of it. As much as they’d thoroughly enjoyed their time alone, they both missed Harper. 

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“Jesus, it’s hot,” Merle complained, mopping sweat off of his face and chest with his t-shirt. The lot of them were out working on the fence again. They only had a little more until it was done and Merle had been hearing some whispers on his HAM radio that the walkers were seen making their way toward the county roads leading out to the prepper community. Merle told Daryl, but they agreed together that they didn’t want to worry the girls until they knew more. In the meantime, they would push on and finish the fence. 

They were working on the west side of the front of the property. If everything went well and they worked at their current pace, they would likely finish it by nightfall. This part of the property was very heavily wooded and the house was obscured by trees, so they packed a couple of coolers with drinks and food. Harper had to stay close to the group today. There wasn’t enough visibility to let her wander too far from them. Shannon packed an activity bag to help keep her occupied while they worked. 

“I vote that we all spend the day swimming tomorrow,” Andrea suggested. “It’s so hot and once the fence is done, all we have left is keeping things up, right?” 

Merle cracked a great big smile at his girl and cackled. “You’re just tryin’ to see me in a speedo.”

“Ain’t nobody tryin’ to see your lily-white ass in no damn speedo, Merle.” Shannon and Andrea lost it at the way Daryl was side-eye glaring at his brother. 

“Y’all don’t deserve to see this sexy specimen in somethin’ so scandalous any damn way.” Merle had a shit-eating grin and rubbed his hands over his chest while wiggling his ass. “But, I do concur. I think coolin’ off in the pond is a damn fine idea.”

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After showers and dinner, Daryl and Shannon took Harper out on the porch so they could talk to her. They’d quietly bounced ideas off of one another all day while working on the fence, trying to come up with the best way to explain a grown-up relationship to a little girl so she would understand. They didn’t come up with anything solid other than being honest and answering her questions as best they could.

“Why don’t you come up here and sit with me, sweet pea? Me and Shannon need to talk to ya about somethin’.” 

Harper climbed onto the porch swing and leaned against his side. Shannon sat on the other side but was prepared to move to one of the rocking chairs if she sensed that Harper wasn’t as happy with the news as they hoped she would be. 

“Did I do something bad, daddy?” She looked up at Daryl with her big blue eyes that were filled with concern. She could get away with anything just by looking at him like that. 

“No, baby. You didn’t do anything bad. You’ve been such a good helper to all of us and I want you to know that I’m very proud of you.” He wiggled his fingers for her to give him a hug. “Baby, me and Shannon want to talk to you about somethin’ important. You know that me and Shannon have known each other for a long time, right?” Harper nodded. She knew that her daddy knew Shannon all the way back when she was brand new and that Shannon had been around for her whole life. “Shannon is really special to me, to both of us. She took care of us both and she’s been there for everything with you. I guess what I’m tryin’ to say, sweet pea, is that I like her a lot. Like more than a friend.” Harper furrowed her brow, confused about what her daddy was trying to say. Daryl took a breath and thought for a moment about how to explain it better. “You know how Uncle Merle likes Andrea? How they hug and hold hands and stuff like that?” She told him that she did. “I like Shannon that way. I like her more than a friend.”

Harper sat up, looking over to Shannon. For a second, Shannon felt like her heart was going to beat right out of her chest. She couldn’t read Harper’s expression enough to gauge what was going through her little mind. “Does that mean you want to be my mommy?” A strangled whimper came out of Shannon and she laid her hand over her heart. 

“Jelly bean, I will always take care of you and I will be whatever you and your daddy need me to be. You’re my tiny bestie. I really like your daddy and he makes me happy. Would you be ok if your daddy was my boyfriend? I promise that I’ll always be good to him and I’ll do my best to always take care of him and make him happy. But, most importantly, I will always be here to take care of you.”

Daryl was breathless. There wasn’t a better person for him to have in Harper’s life. Shannon was one of the best people he’d ever known. She was easily his best friend. She, for sure, was Harper’s. She always made things so much better, so much easier for him and for Harper. God, he was falling so damn hard for her.

Harper was quiet for a few minutes. She was thoughtful like her daddy. Daryl smiled at Shannon and mouthed a silent “thank you”. “Do you wanna be Shannon’s boyfriend, Daddy?” Such a grown-up question from such a little girl. It made his heart swell with pride.

“I do, baby girl. She makes me happy. She’s good for us. I think that the three of us make a good team. Listen, honey, I want to make her happy and I want to take care of her, too. Just the same as we want to take care of you and make you happy. Like she said, you are the most important person. We’ll always put you first.”

Harper pulled one of her daddy’s hands and one of Shannon’s and worked their fingers together and giggled. “Daddy, Shannon should be your girlfriend.” And that was all Harper had to say on the matter. 

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Shannon laid sprawled out in Daryl’s bed stretching as far as she could stretch while Daryl looked on with amusement. She yawned loudly and Daryl couldn’t help but chuckle. She was so pretty all laid out on top of the cool, crisp sheets. Her hair was getting even lighter because of the amount of sun they were getting. He was still smiling as he crawled up the foot of the bed, nestling himself between her legs. He laid his head on her hip and started to trace random patterns with his fingertips on her thigh. 

“You were really good with Harper. You always are.” Shannon was smiling to herself as she ran her fingers through Daryl’s soft hair. “I had a feelin’ she’d be good with us. She loves the hell out of you, ya know.” 

“I love her, too. I never thought too much about being a mom, but having her in my life made me feel like it’s something I could be good at. I was always afraid that I was too messed up to be any good at it. She brought out something in me that I didn’t know was there. You do, too. The both of you have shown me what it’s like to have a real family and what that kind of love is.”

They were both tired from working hard in the hot sun all day and they fell into a comfortable silence for a while. Eventually, Daryl moved to the side of her and was tracing those same random patterns on the flat plane of her stomach. The sleep shorts she was wearing were low on her hips and he’d moved up her tank top a bit. 

The pad of his thumb rubbed over an imperfection just above her right hip bone. He hadn’t noticed it before. He sat up a little so he could see it. It was an old scar, hardly visible as it faded into her creamy skin. He rubbed his thumb over it once more and kissed it. “What happened here?” His voice was soft and caring.

“That’s from my emergency appendectomy. I was sixteen and it was awful. I thought it was just cramps at first, but then the pain got so much worse. All my mother wanted to do was pray over me for healing. She prayed, believing that I would be healed for so long that my appendix ruptured. When I started talking out of my head because of fever she finally relented and called an ambulance. I was rushed to surgery and ended up staying in the hospital for almost a week.” 

“I’m so sorry you had to go through that.” He kissed the length of the scar again and promised that she’d never go through anything like that again. “I’ll always take care of you.” 

“I know, Daryl.” She stroked her slender fingers over his cheek and started kissing him. It was slow and gentle at first. Daryl peeped once to see how beautiful her face was. The sight struck him right in the heart and stole his breath. She sighed and pressed herself against him even more. 

He chuckled and she felt his breath in her hair. He realized how short she really was for the first time. Sure, he knew that she was of the vertically challenged stature before, but with her pressed against him and no other objectives on his mind at the moment, he really noticed. Her head was on his shoulder and her feet only reached his ankles. 

“What’s so funny?” Shannon queried. She glanced, smiling up at him. 

“I just never noticed how tiny you are. How tall are you, anyway? Can’t be more than five feet.”

Shannon raised up on her elbow and glowered at him. “I’m starting to feel picked on.”

“You shouldn’t. I think it’s pretty damn adorable.”

“Adorable? My aspirations have been reached,” she scoffed.

Daryl leaned in close and lips over the edge of her ear. “Did you have to use a step ladder to reach those aspirations?”

“Daryl! You’re an ass!” She screeched.

“I don’t deny it,” he laughed. “You’re beautiful and I wouldn’t want you any other way if that makes it any better.” 

Shannon rolled her eyes and let out a loud sigh. “I mean, I suppose it does.”

They fell asleep entangled in one another’s embrace some time later. Daryl’s thoughts were of how easily and how much she made him laugh. For a long time after Layla left, he wasn’t sure that he would ever be able to open his heart. He and Layla weren’t married, but they had a baby together and he was sure that had meant something to her. He didn’t want to look back and always resort to using that relationship as a metric for how things could or should go. He was wiping the slate clean and trusting Shannon with his heart. He felt no fear or apprehension at the thought of it. She was safe. Something deep inside told him that she was meant to be his.


	14. Chapter 14

“I feel like I’m still floating,” Shannon giggled. After a full day of sun and swimming, followed by a little alcohol, she was feeling the effects. She stretched on the bed and watched as Daryl dried his hair with a towel. 

Daryl snorted and cocked an eyebrow at his girl. “Wouldn’t have anything to do with them shots we did, would it?”

“Are you insinuating that I can’t handle my liquor?” Shannon sat up on her elbows and eyed Daryl’s fine form as he pulled on a pair of boxers and then as he crawled onto the bed over top of her. 

“Nah, you’re just a little more giggly than usual. I ain’t complainin’. Anytime I get to see that beautiful smile makes me happy.” 

“You sure are a charmer, Dixon.” She crossed her wrists behind his neck and smiled up at him. “So, are you gonna kiss me, or are you gonna make me beg?”

The tip of his nose brushed against hers and the scruff of hair on his chin scratched her soft face. “I’d never make ya beg, sweetheart.” His soft lips delicately met hers, just long enough that he could inhale her breath and feel the warmth of her skin. He hovered above her, gazing into her soulful eyes. 

“What is it?” Shannon asked, sensing that he was holding something back. She could feel it coming off of him like a vibration. One corner of his mouth was turned up in that adorable crooked grin that would always make her weak. 

“I love you.” He said it simply and reverently. Shannon’s eyes widened and her breath caught in her chest. No one had ever told her that except for her Nana and Harper. Even the douchebag she dated for two years hadn’t said those three words. He told her that he cared for her, but he was a non-believer in what the greeting card companies determined love was. 

“Daryl,” she whispered just when he thought she wasn’t going to say anything at all. “I love you, too.” She pulled him into her fervent kiss and tangled her fingers into his hair with one hand while the other one traveled down the smooth plane of his back. She, without a doubt, was wildly in love with this kind, gentle, caring man. Her primal animalistic instincts were awakened and in overdrive. There weren’t adequate words to tell him how much she loved him or how much those words meant to her, so she’d show him. 

In a matter of moments, they were both out of the clothes they’d only had on for a short time and Shannon was riding him slow and easy. She gripped the headboard as she rose up on her knees, then slid back down, rolling her hips when he was bottomed out. Daryl rubbed and squeezed her ass, moaning with every stroke of her heat. His heels were pressed deep into the mattress and his head was thrown back. He was the epitome of masculine sexiness. 

“That’s it, darlin’. Mmmm, yeah. Just like that.” She loved the husky, gritty way his voice sounded when he was talking only to her. “Feels so fuckin’ good.” Daryl’s eyes were closed and his expression was one of extreme pleasure. 

Soon, Shannon felt the familiar coil tightening deep in her lower belly and tingles crawling up her spine. Her movements sped up and got harder. Daryl reveled in the throaty way she was moaning and the way her body looked as she moved rhythmically above him. He moved his hands from her ass, along her slender waist, and to her breasts. He squeezed them and rolled her nipples between his thumb and middle finger. 

“Yes! Oh, Daryl, baby! I’m so close. Help me,” she pleaded, desperately. He wasn’t a hundred percent sure what she needed as they were still learning each other, so he grabbed her hips and pushed her down on him hard as he thrust into her. She sat fully upright and threw her head back and let out a satisfied groan. She grabbed his wrists and held on with a white-knuckle grip. Daryl watched her intently and felt reasonably certain that she was getting what she needed so he kept thrusting into her and pulling her down, hard, on his dick. He brought his knees up to help support her and to give him better leverage.

“Oh, fuck,” she groaned. “Right there, baby. Just like that.” Daryl was sure that he could simply watch her getting off and he would nut like a teenager with a nudie book. He felt the first flutters around his thick cock even before her body recognized her impending orgasm. It was such an awesome experience to get to feel that before she even knew what was happening. He sped up his tempo just a bit to take her over the edge. 

“Jesus…FUCK! Oh, God, yes! Daryl! I’m cumming!” she cried out and it sounded almost like she was afraid to let go and give in to the feeling of letting it consume her completely. 

“I’ve got you, sweetheart. Just let go.” He watched her eyes roll back and her mouth fall open, no sound coming out. Her body stiffened and started to tremble all over. She was tipping over and he could feel it. His grip on her hips tightened and he began thrusting into her at a punishing pace, giving her that final push to completely and thoroughly let go. The room was filled with her stuttered cries and his feral grunts and growls and their combined hard breathing. He tried to hold out as long as he could. He didn’t want this moment to ever end. Shannon was so beautiful perched on him, her facial expression was one of unadulterated orgasmic bliss. But, he couldn’t hold out any longer. Her pussy was squeezing the life out of his dick and he was no longer in control of it. He could no longer control the need to cum. It was all-consuming and unstoppable. He knew that he should pull out of her, just to be a hundred percent safe, but that wasn’t going to happen with the way she was clenching and spasming. 

“Fuck! Shannon! Goddammit...Yeah…” His eyes were tightly shut and his brow was peaked and his head raised from the pillow until his chin was on his chest and quiet but high-pitched gasps and moans came from him for what felt like a long time. 

They lay beside each other, panting and jolting from the aftershocks of the most incredible sex they’d had yet. Daryl lazily brought his hand to Shannon and laid it on her round ass. They both were sweaty and breathless and unable to say anything for a few minutes. Shannon was on her belly, her face pointed at Daryl. She peeked at him through squinted eyes. He was so handsome, especially now. Strands of his shaggy bangs stuck to his damp forehead. His eyes were closed and every now and then he’d purse his lips and blow out a hard breath. 

When he was able, Daryl turned onto his side to find Shannon smiling. “What’s that all about?” he asked as he traced his finger over her lips and to the deep dimple in her cheek. 

“I’m happy, Daryl. For the very first time in my life, I can honestly say that I’m truly happy.” 

Daryl moved closer and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Me, too, sweetheart. Me, too.”

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A few nights later, Merle, Andrea, Shannon, Daryl, and Harper were in the backyard. Merle was grilling dinner while everyone else played with Harper, either pushing her on her swing or chasing her around her fort. They’d worked hard all week taking care of daily chores around the cabin and the land. They stopped working early today because it was just too hot. There wasn’t anything that had to be done that was pressing enough that they needed to risk having a heat stroke. After lunch, they went for a swim to cool down and then waited for the evening before deciding they would grill some kebabs for dinner. One of Merle’s friends brought some fresh chicken in exchange for some fresh veggies. They were having some problems with their crops and Merle offered to go over and help them in a day or two. 

After dinner and after indulging in a huge watermelon, Harper fell asleep on the glider. “I’mma take her to bed before the mosquitos eat her up,” Daryl announced as he went to his sleeping daughter. “Be right back.”

While Daryl was taking Harper to bed, Merle and Andrea started cleaning up and taking things to the kitchen. Shannon noticed that a paper plate had blown down into the treeline beside the house. She slipped on her flip-flops and made her way over to pick it up so she could throw it away. Although it was dark, the moon was full and it gave her enough light for the simple task. She made it down to where the trash was and paused for a moment when she stepped on a stick that poked her foot.

“Dammit!” she hissed, rubbing the side of her foot. After making sure that she wasn’t bleeding, she reached her destination and bent to grab the paper plate. At first, it felt as if her hair snagged on a limb. She tugged and felt along the length of the pulled strand until she felt something strange. It was pliable and cold. All of the sudden, more of her hair was being pulled and whatever had her was large and snarling and it was crashing against something ahead of her, but she wasn’t sure what it was. Sheer panic flooded her as she couldn’t get free no matter how much she pulled or struggled. In fact, it seemed to be making it worse. 

“DARYL!!!!” she screamed as loud as she could, swinging both of her arms, trying to get free. She screamed for Daryl again and again as hot tears poured down her face. Her heart was racing so fast now that all she could hear was a whooshing sound in her ears, and faintly, she could hear snarling and brambles shaking. Her feet slipped out of the flip-flops she was wearing and she was finally getting better traction, albeit painfully. “No! No, goddammit!” she cried as she fought to break free, but somehow, now it had a hold of her shirt, too. 

Daryl was in the kitchen with Andrea and Merle. He’d just gotten there and was leaning against the island chatting with them. He was about to grab them all a beer when he heard something, but he wasn’t sure what it was. 

“Hey, man, turn off the water for a second.” As soon as Merle did, they all heard a blood-curdling scream tear through the night air. “Shannon!” Panic flashed in his eyes and Merle caught it instantly. The three of them all ran out together, desperately looking for Shannon. It wasn’t long before she screamed for Daryl again. 

“I’m here, baby!” he called out as he made it to her. He couldn’t hide the horror in his eyes when he saw that one of the dead things had a grip on her. “Merle! Get down here!” Everything from that moment happened quickly. Daryl was trying to pry the corpse’s fingers from Shannon when Merle came running and without giving it a moment of thought, he buried his knife to the hilt in the thing’s temple. Daryl and Shannon spilled onto the ground. 

“Her hand is bleeding!” Andrea shrieked. “We need to get her inside and cleaned up.” By now, Andrea was crying and shaking. She was terrified of what had just happened and she was even more terrified at the prospect that the, whatever the fuck that thing was called, might have bitten her. 

Daryl sat Shannon up and started to look at her hand. He didn’t want to. He didn’t want to find out that, well, his mind wouldn’t allow him to go there. Shannon was hysterical. She was shaking so badly she couldn’t get to her feet. Daryl scooped her up bridal-style and they all ran back to the house. Merle knew that they would need to do a perimeter check to make sure that nothing else had made it in and to find out how the fuck this one did, but Shannon needed help first.

“I-I cut it on a jagged piece of branch that had broken off of a tree,” Shannon stammered. Daryl placed her on the island and was wetting a towel to try to clean her hand to see how bad it was cut. Shannon was rambling nervously, stuttering through every word she said. Merle and Andrea went to get the first aid supplies and some pain meds for Shannon. A cursory glance told Merle that her hand was going to need to be stitched, and he could do that, unfortunately, he had no way to numb it before he did it. 

“Here, sugar,” Merle offered her two Vicodin. “You’re gonna need these.” Shannon’s eyes were wide with new fear. “That cut on your hand has got to be cleaned out and stitched up. I ain’t got the stuff to numb it. It’s gonna hurt, but you’re strong.” Merle’s intense blue eyes met hers. “You can call me every name in the book if you want. I won’t hold it against ya.” Shannon, surprising even herself, chuckled. “There she is,” he smiled reassuringly. “You can handle this.” 

Daryl had her sit on his lap so he could both hold her and help hold down her arm to keep her from moving. It actually took him and Andrea to keep her hand still while Merle dug out a huge splinter that was embedded deep inside the wound. Actually, having Shannon in his lap was the only thing keeping him grounded and from falling apart. He nearly lost the best thing to ever happen to him, aside from Harper, of course. All he wanted was to feel her in his arms. He hated that it was like this for now. He hated that she was crying out in pain while his brother tended to the awful wound on the side of her hand, but he was glad of it at the same time. It meant that she was still alive and that this was a simple fix compared to what it could have been. 

“Alright, sweet girl, I’m gonna start stitchin’ you up. You gotta be strong just a little while longer, honey.” Merle was being so sweet and he tried to be as gentle as possible, but there’s not a good or easy way to sew someone up without the benefit of anesthetic. Daryl wove his fingers into the hair at the back of her head and held her against his shoulder. 

“Bite me if ya gotta, sweetheart. Do whatever you need to do,” he murmured with his lips pressed to the crown of her head. She yelped and he felt her stiffen as the needle pierced her skin. He knew it hurt badly and there was nothing he could do about it. The helpless feeling was more than he could stand. He hated every second of this. “I’m so sorry, baby. I wish I could take it for you.” His words felt hollow as there was nothing, absolutely nothing he could do to ease her pain. 

Finally, after Merle tied off the final stitch, Andrea quickly cleaned up Shannon’s hand and dressed it. “I’m putting some triple-antibiotic ointment on your hand. It has some lidocaine in it, so hopefully, it’ll help with the pain.” Andrea squeezed a generous amount of the ointment onto a non-stick pad and gently pressed it to the wound. She then wrapped it with some gauze to keep it in place. By now, the Vicodin was beginning to take effect and Shannon was groggy. 

Shannon was glassy-eyed as Daryl sat her on the side of the bed. “Will you be ok like this while I get some things to clean you up?” Her eyes slowly rolled up to his and she nodded. She had such a vacant look and it scared him. He wasn’t sure if it was from the pills that Merle gave her, or if it was from her horrifying experience. He figured it was probably a little of both. Daryl went into their bathroom and found a container that would work for holding some warm, soapy water and he quickly filled it. He grabbed a washcloth and a towel and headed back to his girl. 

“Let’s get this shirt off,” Daryl suggested. It was covered in drying blood and he knew it had to feel sticky and gross against her skin. Shannon blinked heavily and gave him a weak nod. “We gotta be careful of your hand, ok.” He pulled the back of the neck over her head and slipped her good arm out first. Then, he rolled as much of the shirt into his hands and held the sleeve wide so she could pull her hand through without touching the wound. He looked her over, checking for any other wounds. Her skin was stained with dried blood and so was her bra. “I’m gonna take this off, too, ok.” Just as with the shirt, he was extra careful not to cause her any more pain. She had a bruise starting to form on her shoulder. It was the same side as her injured hand. She must have fallen against the tree, he assumed. 

Daryl sat on his knees in front of her, gently washing away the blood and grit from arms, neck, and chest. He rinsed the container and filled it with warm, soapy water again. When he was cleaning her, he realized that she also had dried blood on her legs. A bath would have been better, but in her stupor, it just wasn’t possible right now. 

“Can you stand up for me, honey?” Daryl knelt in front of her, his eyes searching hers for any sign of the bright life that was always there. 

“Yeah,” she rasped, softly. He gave her a smile and helped her to stand. 

“I’m gonna take off your shorts and clean up your legs.” He gave her a questioning glance to which she nodded her agreement. When he finished, he found her a tank top and shorts and got her dressed for bed. “Lie back, baby. Let’s get you tucked in and see about getting your hand propped up.” 

Shannon started to lay back, but she suddenly looked panicked and grabbed Daryl’s hand with her good one. “Don’t leave me.” Her eyes filled with tears and it broke Daryl’s heart. “Please. I don’t want to be alone.” 

Daryl sat down beside her and cupped her jaw with his strong hand. “I’m not going anywhere, sweetheart. I’m gonna get you settled and turn off your lamp and then get into bed. I’ll hold you all night.” He wiped away the tears that ran down her cheeks and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I love you and I promise that I’m going to take care of you.” Shannon slowly released her grip on his hand so he could get into bed. 

Daryl was very careful as he pulled her into his arms. Her hand had to be throbbing like a bitch and he didn’t want to cause her to bump it and make it worse. “How’s that, sweetheart? You ok?” He felt her nod against his chest and he kissed the back of her head. “You just rest now, baby. I’ve got you.”

“Daryl?” 

“Yeah, babe?” He kissed her shoulder and ran his fingers up and down her arm. He couldn’t stop touching and kissing her. He was still so scared yet relief rushed through him like a wild river. 

“I love you.” He felt tears stinging his eyes and he had to fight to keep them from falling. He’d never been as scared in his life as he had been tonight. He took a moment to just inhale her sweet scent and allow it to calm him. He didn’t trust his voice to not give him away.

“I love you, too. So much, sweetheart.”

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When Shannon woke up, the first thing she was aware of was the throbbing, nauseating way her hand ached. The second thing she was aware of was that she was very groggy. She had only ever had strong painkillers a few times before last night, and Merle had given her two. Couple that with her small stature and the emotional toll, she was toast. She was attempting to sit up when Daryl came in.

“Here,” he said, rushing to her side. “Let me help.” Obviously, it was only a wound on her left hand, but Daryl felt that he needed to do everything for her. Guilt crept in while he laid awake keeping watch over Shannon during the night. If he hadn’t stopped in the kitchen, if he’d just gone back outside to see if she even wanted a beer, if he’d gotten to her sooner. If. If. If.

“How’re you doin’?” Daryl stared intently into her eyes. 

“My hand is killing me, but I’m ok.” He was relieved to see her smile. It was one of her true smiles. She was much stronger than he thought that even she realized. That was his girl.


	15. Chapter 15

“What happened to your hand?” Harper asked. She was gently stroking one of her little fingers on top of Shannon’s bandaged hand. Her little face was full of curiosity and concern.

“I tripped and cut my hand on a tree. A limb had broken off and there was a sharp piece still attached to the side of the tree. But, Uncle Merle, Andi, and your daddy fixed me up.” 

“Does it hurt?” 

“Yeah, it hurts. But, It’s already getting better because everyone took such good care of me.” Harper kissed the side of Shannon’s hand, causing Shannon to forcefully bite back a yelp. 

“Thank you, jelly bean. Your magical kiss made me feel a whole lot better.” Shannon hugged and kissed the little girl who happily skipped away right after.

“You ok?” Daryl asked. He’d been standing in the doorway watching to make sure that Harper was careful. He started to step in and pull her away before she could kiss Shannon’s hand, but he knew they both would be upset. 

“Yeah, babe, I’m ok.” Daryl leaned down and kissed her gently, holding her face in his hands. He lingered for a moment to just take in her beauty. 

“I got you some coffee. Fixed it up just the way you like. I’m gonna make you some breakfast so you can take some pain meds.”

“Baby, thank you for taking care of me. I know I was a mess last night and I couldn’t have gotten through it without you.” Daryl hugged her from behind, kissing the top of her head over and over. “I love you, Dar. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“I love you, too, baby. I love you so damn much.” He came around and leaned on the table, holding her good hand. “Listen, you can’t do much of anything for at least a few days. If you make a fist or anything like that, you could pop your stitches. Just take it easy and let us take care of you. Ain’t too much work that needs to be done anyway.” Shannon stuck out her bottom lip in a pout. She didn’t like just sitting around and it was even worse that she would be sitting around today. If she could just work, she might be able to head off the inevitable panic attack. “I know, sweetie. I just don’t want you to risk your hand splittin’ open or getting infected.”

“I know, baby. It just sucks.” Daryl enveloped her into his arms and held her. He was still deeply rattled by last night’s events. All he wanted to do was take her back to bed and just stay there with her and completely forget the whole world for the day. He just wanted to feel her pressed up against him and know that she was safe. Unfortunately, that would have to wait as he and Merle were going to check the perimeter and the fence to make sure that nothing else was able to get in. Andrea was staying back to keep an eye on things around the cabin until they got back. 

“Let’s get you fed so I can take a look at your hand and change your bandage.” Shannon nodded against his chest but made no attempt to move. Daryl chuckled and squeezed her tight. “How about we have a date night? I know I can’t take you out to dinner and a movie, but maybe we can cuddle on the couch after everyone goes to bed.”

“I think I’d like that, babe.”

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“How d’ya think that sumbitch got in?” Merle asked Daryl as they searched the area where Shannon was attacked the previous night. Daryl was stooped over and surveying the ground and already seeing signs of a trail.

Daryl pointed at the pine needles and pine cones that covered the forest floor. “Looks like it came from out this way. C’mon, let’s see where it leads.” The brothers exchanged a glance and they both made sure that their weapons were ready. Each man had a large knife on their belts and they both had guns. Daryl told Merle that noise attracted the dead so they agreed they would only use their guns as a last resort. Daryl had his crossbow and Merle had a machete and those were what they would use first. 

Silently, they followed the meandering trail as they were vigilant for any sounds of walkers. The trail took them to the furthest point of the property. It was such a heavily wooded area that they used the trees as a natural break between the fence they built. 

“There,” Daryl directed. “Looks like one of the storms took out a tree and knocked out part of the fence. We’ll start doing fence checks after it’s windy or we have a storm.” 

“Nah. I’m gonna start checkin’ on a daily basis. I ain’t takin’ no chances of any more of them things gettin’ in here.” Red crept up Merle’s neck and his cheeks flushed. “What if it had grabbed Harper?” He was angry with himself that any of his family had been in harm’s way because he hadn’t been on top of things. Andrea had gotten into his head with her idea of wanting a baby. It scared the hell out of him because he wanted one as much as she did, but with the way things were, he was conflicted. Was it responsible to bring a little one into the world now? How would they do it since there were no hospitals? What if there was a complication? There were so many unanswerable questions. He was completely torn and didn’t have any idea what the hell he was supposed to do.   
“Merle, you know this ain’t your fault. Don’t put this on yourself.” Daryl hated seeing Merle shouldering all of the blame for something that was completely blameless. Shannon would never think that what happened to her was his or any of their fault. 

“Time’s a-wastin', brother. Let’s get this shit fixed and then we’ll take the quads and check the rest of the property.” 

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It was late in the day before Merle and Daryl finished mending the fence. They were hot, drenched with sweat, and tired. The brothers finished their other task, which was to circle the property on quads and inspect the remainder of the enclosure. Merle had a thousand ideas running around his head and he needed to try to get at least some of those ideas down on paper so he could start planning on what would be best to start on first. 

Daryl pulled his quad into the barn shortly after Merle. “Everything looked good on my side. How was yours?”

“Huh? Oh, uh, it’s all good.” Merle was clearly distracted and Daryl decided he couldn’t just let it go. 

“What’s up with you, man? Everything ok?” Daryl sat on the side of the ATV and crossed his ankles out in front of him. He lit a cigarette and offered one to Merle. 

Merle lit his smoke and inhaled deeply, closing his eyes as the nicotine raced through his system. “Shit. I’m just worried that there’s gonna be more. How are we supposed to feel safe enough to let Harper play outside? We can’t just keep her locked up in the house all the time. How are we supposed to all work and not look over our shoulders constantly?” Daryl had those same worries in his own mind. He was trying to think of a way to help ease his brother’s fears when Merle blurted out the secret he’d been carrying around.

“What? You and Andrea want to have a baby?” Daryl had a bit of a smile. He couldn’t think of a better man to be a father than Merle. 

“What? You really think it’s a good idea?” Merle scoffed.

“Yeah. I mean, that’s why we’re fightin’ to stay alive. If we’re not fightin’ to keep the future going, what are we doin’ all of this for? Sure, we’d have to figure out how to make sure that Andrea and the baby are healthy and a whole bunch of other stuff, but it’s worth it in the end.” Merle was quiet while they finished their smokes. Daryl made a lot of sense, but it was still scary as hell.

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Daryl noticed that Shannon didn’t eat much at dinner and she was fidgety when they all around on the front porch watching the sun go down. She moved down to the front steps where she had a better view of the sun moving down below the mountains. He watched the way she nervously bounced her leg and she kept playing with her hair. He sat down behind her and started massaging her shoulders. 

“How’re ya doin’, sweetheart?” He spoke quietly so the others wouldn’t hear. She turned and looked at him with a bright smile, but he could tell that she was simply trying to make him believe it was genuine. Hell, she was probably trying to make herself believe it, too. 

“I’m ok, babe.” He kissed the side of her head and let out a breath.

“Don’t bullshit me, love. I know your anxiety’s eatin’ at ya. What can I do?” God, who was this man who was so perfect? He knew her so well and he wanted to know what to do to help her. Not once did he even suggest that she suck it up, or pray about it. She hated it when her mother told her to just “pray it away”. 

“You’re doing everything that I could ever ask for. You’re the only person who’s ever asked how to help.” She smiled again and this time, Daryl could see that it was real. She tilted her head back for a kiss, and, of course, Daryl obliged. “Do you feel up to our date tonight?”

“Of course. I promised my girl a date, and I always keep my promises.”

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Daryl looked out the kitchen windows, making sure that everything was quiet before heading to the living room. He carried two ice cream sundaes with him. Ice cream and a funny movie made everything better. At least he hoped it would. 

“Just like the first time we had a movie date after everyone was asleep,” Shannon beamed. “Thank you for this, baby. And, thank you for taking care of my hand.” Daryl had insisted on cleaning and re-dressing it again. He wanted to check it and make sure that there were no signs of infection. It looked good. There was only a little redness around the skin where the sutures were placed, likely from the trauma of the needle. He wasn’t too worried about it. He put a little more of that Neosporin with lidocaine in it on the wound, covered it with a non-stick pad, and then wrapped it neatly with some gauze. His touch was tender and gentle and it made her heart swell with love. 

“I gotta make sure my girl’s ok. ‘Sides, I like takin’ care of ya. I just…” he trailed off, looking away.

Shannon rubbed her good hand across his cheek. “What, baby? What is it?”

“I thought...thought that you were bit and it scared the fuck outta me. I can’t lose you, Shan.” She stared into his tear-filled eyes and a lump filled her throat. “I just...can't.”

Shannon crawled over and straddled him, kissing him hungrily and passionately as her heart pounded against his. She loved this man with every fiber of her being. She felt their mingled tears and somehow, Daryl managed to put their ice cream on the table next to him. Their hands were all over each other as if they couldn’t get enough of the feeling. Daryl lifted up and pushed his shorts and underwear down and then moved Shannon’s panties to the side. This wasn’t what either of them planned on for their date, but they needed this more than they needed to breathe. 

Their mouths were open and their lips touching as Shannon let out a soft moan when Daryl pushed into her. He held her hip with one hand and the back of her head with the other. Their kiss never broke as they made love there on the couch. Nothing else existed outside of their periphery for that time. Neither of them had ever experienced such extraordinary emotions as they did while they made love. Their souls connected and joined together to become one powerful, beautiful being. 

Shannon tightened her fingers into closed fists in his hair as her climax raced her to the top of the precipice. Daryl was close behind her. He thrust into her frantically chasing the exquisite release that was right there within sight. 

Shannon’s kiss faltered and she pulled him tight, desperately needing his closeness. Her hard breaths and quiet moans spilled from her open mouth that was still against his lips. Daryl’s arms circled around her and he pushed her down onto his hard thrusts until he went rigid and he was groaning in sync with Shannon’s moans.

“I love you so much, sweetheart. I love you so fuckin’ much.” He was out of breath and fresh tears rolled down his cheeks as he held her close.

“I love you, too, baby. I’ll love you forever.” She pressed her forehead to his and let more of her own tears fall. “I never knew what it was like to love or to be loved until you. I promise to love you with my whole heart for as long as it beats.”

“It better beat for a long goddamn time, because I intend to grow very old with you.” They both laughed and wiped away each other's tears. “That was amazing, by the way.”

“Mmmm...Yes, it was. Thank you for everything, baby. Thank you for loving me.” 

Daryl sat her back on his lap and held her face in his hands. “You make it so damn easy.”


	16. Chapter 16

“It’s like sittin’ on the front porch of hell, I tell you,” Merle complained. He mopped his face dry with a bandana and took a long drink of the lemonade Andrea made for them. He was wearing a pair of worn-out jeans that had quite a few holes. That was as close as Merle would come to wearing a pair of shorts while he was outside unless he was swimming. Somehow, being shirtless, shoeless, and wearing a pair of ratty jeans was different. 

Both Andrea and Shannon were wearing tank tops that they knotted under their breasts and short cotton shorts. Harper was down to just her shorts. If Uncle Merle and her daddy could go shirtless, so could she. It was too hot to argue about it. It was too hot to argue about any damn thing. The remaining weeks of summer were hanging on with a fiery grip. They let go of doing anything that wasn’t absolutely essential for keeping them fed and a roof over their heads. 

Daryl took on the task of making dinner. He had never handled sitting around doing nothing, even if it was all he felt like doing. It was a bit better now that the sun was going down, but it still wasn’t what you’d call comfortable outside, but everyone was tired of being cooped up in the house. Thank heavens that Merle had more than enough solar panels to keep the air conditioner on.

He finished dinner for the adults and started on making something for Harper. She wouldn’t eat the Italian tortellini salad, so he made her a fruit and vegetable plate with some cheese and crackers. 

“C’mon, y’all. Dinner’s ready.” Slowly, everyone trudged inside to eat a meal that they knew they needed, but none of them wanted. “Let’s eat in the living room and watch a movie. Maybe we can watch something funny to knock the crankiness off all our asses.” It wasn’t a terrible idea, actually. They’d all been biting each other’s heads off because no one had the patience to deal with anything. Even Harper had snapped at Daryl harshly enough to be sent to her room until she was ready to apologize and speak kindly again. Merle and Andrea had a spat, but he quickly ceded that he was being a horse’s ass and begged forgiveness. Shannon couldn’t sit still any better than Daryl could, so she’d gone to the garden when it was still early, but it got hot faster than she’d been able to pick the ripe vegetables so she tried to work faster. She ended up getting so overheated that she threw up and Daryl had come across more grouchy than concerned. She was still licking her wounds over that and that meant that she was giving Daryl the silent treatment. Thank Christ fall was only a few weeks away. 

“You feeling okay?” Daryl asked, quietly. Everyone else was settling in on the couch, so Daryl stole a private moment while he had the opportunity. Shannon looked up at him but didn’t answer. “Shannon, sweetheart, I’m sorry I was a dick. You got sick and I was wrong to be an asshole.” He laid his head on his shoulder and took it as a good sign that she didn’t deck him. “I really am sorry. I guess I let my emotions get the best of me and I was never mad. It just scared me that you...you know.”

“I know, Daryl. I’m sorry I’ve been a bitch to you. You apologized and then took care of me, but I just kept right on being a bitch. You didn’t deserve that.” She let out a hard breath and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Shit,” her voice cracked. 

“Hey...Shan, honey, please don’t cry.” Daryl put their plates on the counter and tried to pull her into his arms. Shannon resisted, shaking her head. 

“I was so mad and I couldn’t figure out why, but then I started cramping and by that point, I was ashamed of myself for being mad that…” Daryl put his finger against her lips and smiled.

“Sweetheart, it’s ok. You’re allowed to have emotions, even irrational ones. Tell you what, when you feel like you just need to scream at me, take me outside and do it.” Shannon looked at him like he’d grown a second head. “I’m serious. Just take me out away from the house and scream at me until you feel better.” This time when Daryl pulled her close, Shannon didn’t resist. “Just know, when you’re done callin’ me every damn name you can think of, I’m gonna kiss you to shut you the hell up.” He felt her beginning to laugh and he joined her. “There’s my girl. C’mon, before your cold dinner gets warm.”

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After Harper was asleep, Daryl and Shannon decided to call it a night, though neither of them was particularly tired. Daryl suggested that they take a movie or two with them and just relax in their cool bedroom. 

After he turned on the movie, Daryl patted the mattress in front of him. “C’mere. I was thinkin’ that you might like it if I was to rub your neck and shoulders.” Shannon still had a guilty look about her for giving him the silent treatment. Truthfully, it should be her rubbing his back. “Stop overthinkin’ and scoot your ass over here. You ain’t got no reason for them sad eyes.” 

Shannon made her way to where he wanted her and he wrapped his arms around her from behind. She loved these hugs. He always nuzzled his cheek into the crook of her neck and kissed her ear. “I really am sorry for the way I acted today,” she murmured. 

“And I really already forgot all about it. I told you, it’s all good, darlin’. Now, you just relax and let me work out some of this tension you’re carryin’ in your shoulders. Hell, much more and you’ll not have a neck at all.” Shannon laughed and Daryl rubbed some of her lotion between his hands so it would be warm when he started to rub it in. “I’m serious, sweetheart. It’s over and done. Don’t want you thinkin’ on it no more.”

He worked his strong fingers into her tight muscles all across her shoulder and then rubbed his thumbs up her neck and back again. The pressure he applied was just the right amount and the rhythmic way his hands moved was working its magic. The first season of Game of Thrones was playing and everything was peaceful. It was perfect right up until the moment that their bedroom door creaked open and Harper came in with a confession to make.

“What are you doin’ up, sweet pea? Something wrong?” Daryl watched as his little girl shuffled over to his side of the bed with her head down. Shannon cast Daryl a quick, worried look. She’d never seen Harper looking so pitiful.

“Daddy, I did a bad thing.” Her voice was so soft and so full of remorse that Shannon didn’t think she’d care what she did. She would forgive all of her transgressions, even the ones she hadn’t committed if she would stop looking so damn sad. Daryl picked up the little girl and set her on the bed in front of him. Daryl was by no means a harsh disciplinarian, but he insisted that if she had done something wrong, she had to confess it and apologize for it. Sometimes, though, it was as hard for him to make her do it as it was for her to work up the words for her confession.

“Let’s talk about it, honey. Tell me what you did.” Daryl always spoke to her with a kind and gentle voice, especially when she was in trouble. He wanted to establish very early on that she could come to him and talk about anything and he would be there for her and help her make her own decisions about righting a wrong. 

He only had to look at her feet and her hands to know that she’d gotten into some fingernail polish. It was bright pink and everywhere. Harper’s chin was on her chest and her shoulders hitched when she sniffled and tried to take in enough air and courage to tell her daddy what she’d done.

“Are you gonna be mad at me?” Well, shit. Daryl hated it when she asked him that. Of course, he could be mad as hell about something she’d done. Any parent could tell you that their children often could push their buttons better than anyone. He could be mad about the situation or the mess he’d have to clean up, but he couldn’t be mad at the little girl who looked to him to teach her the way. His job was to show her how to be accountable for her actions. Show her that everything she did had consequences, good or bad. 

“Look at me, sweet pea,” Daryl said softly, tilting her head up with two fingers under her chin. Her big blue eyes were glassy with tears. Most of the time, Daryl could handle the tears. It was part of having a little one. He hated it when she was so worked up because she thought he would be displeased with her, though. “No matter what you do, I’m always gonna love you. You know that, right?” Harper nodded ever so slightly. “Then let’s get it over with. You tell me what happened and we’ll figure out what we gotta do to make it right.”

Harper’s lips frowned so hard that Daryl momentarily feared they’d stick that way. She took several quick stuttering breaths and then set to tell her tale.

“I wanted my toes to look like Aunt Andi’s.” Daryl waited to see if there would be more or if he was going to have to encourage her along to get the full story. Harper started chewing on the side of her thumbnail, just like her daddy, indicating that she was going to need help getting through this.

“Are you supposed to paint your nails by yourself?” Harper shook her head.

“Where did you get the nail polish?”

A fat tear fell from each eye and her chin quivered as she drummed up all the bravery she had inside her little body. “I took it from Andi’s room.” Daryl had to show the right amount of disappointment, but not too much, otherwise, Harper would start bawling and he’d never get her to talk. 

“Did you have permission from Andrea to take it?” Harper was breathing hard and fast and she could no longer look at Daryl. She tried so hard, but she couldn’t say the word that was the truth. No. She shook her head.

“Did you sneak out of bed after I tucked you in?” A tiny little sob answered his question.

“It spilled and made a mess when I opened it. I’m sorry, Daddy.” Now that little sob was all-out crying. Daryl knew that she was sorry. Hell, he understood the temptation to prove herself to be a big girl. He wiped his hands down his face with frustration and heartache. It was late and she should be in bed, but she was here, bawling her eyes out because she’d made a mistake.

“C’mere, baby girl.” Relief washed over Harper when Daryl pulled her onto his lap and held her tight. “I know that you just wanted to be a big girl and do this yourself. But, you know that taking something that isn’t yours without permission is wrong. You know that a grown-up has to do your nails for you. We’re going to have to go talk to Uncle Merle and Aunt Andi, ok?” 

Merle and Andrea were sitting close on the couch watching some sci-fi movie. Merle’s choice, no doubt. They sat up together when they heard Daryl and Harper come in. Shannon quietly followed behind. She had remained silent because she wanted so badly to scoop the little girl, her little jelly bean, into her arms and tell her that all was forgiven. But, she couldn’t do that. She couldn’t undermine Daryl’s parenting. 

“What’s wrong with my little sugar plum?” Merle asked, starting to get up. Daryl held up his hand so Merle would stop. If Uncle Merle picked her up and told her that everything was ok, she’d never had to tell him or Andrea what she did. This was an important lesson for her to learn.  
“If y’all don’t mind, Harper has somethin’ she needs to tell you,” Daryl stated. She stood there, holding his hand as tight as she could. She didn’t want her Uncle Merle and Aunt Andi upset with her any more than she wanted to disappoint her daddy. Daryl sat down across from his brother and whispered in Harper’s ear, telling her that everything was going to be ok, but she had to tell them what happened.

She stepped forward and looked at the floor as she told Andrea and Merle about the nail polish. She was as brave as she could be, but she still had to stop to dry her tears a few times. 

“Can you tell us what was wrong with what you did, sweet pea?” Daryl asked. This was the hardest part for him as much as it was for Harper. But, Daryl knew that the best way for her to learn was to confess it and accept the consequences. 

“Daryl,” Merle said, pleadingly. He hated seeing his little princess all twisted up over some spilled nail polish. Daryl gave his brother a gentle warning with a quick look. 

“It was wrong for me to take your polish, Aunt Andi. I’m sorry. It was wrong for me to make a mess on the floor, Uncle Merle.” Merle couldn’t stand to see her hitching and fighting to try to keep herself from crying anymore. He grabbed her up and held her in his arms. He hated it, but he knew that Daryl was right to teach her, but damn if it didn’t break his heart.

“Go on over and kiss your daddy and Shannon goodnight. Uncle Merle and Aunt Andrea will take it from here.” Daryl couldn’t argue with that. He knew how much it bothered Merle when he sent Harper to her room or put her in timeout. Uncle Merle would smooth things over and make sure that Harper went to bed with happy thoughts. 

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Shannon closed their door and watched Daryl strip to his boxers. She’d been noticeably quiet throughout the whole ordeal. It wasn’t her place, yet, to determine punishment beyond making Harper talk to her father. Right now, though, her focus was solely on Daryl. To say that he looked dejected was a gross understatement. He looked downright miserable.

She crossed the room and sat on the bed and grabbed some lotion that didn’t smell too girly and started rubbing a glob of it between her hands. Daryl came out of the bathroom and was greeted by a soft smile from her.

“Well, come on and sit down in front of me. Seems like you need me to work out some tension before your ears meet your shoulders.” 

“Sorry about your massage getting interrupted,” Daryl pouted. “I wanted you to have a nice quiet evening.”

“There’s no reason to be sorry, baby. We’re still going to have a nice quiet evening. Now, get you cute butt over here and let me help you feel better.”

“Pfft! The hell you talkin’ about? Cute butt?” He was shaking his head as he settled into the spot in front of Shannon.

“You have a cute butt. What can I say? I like to look at it.” Because of her height, she had to raise up on her knees to reach his shoulders. She rolled her thumbs into his tightly bunched muscles in a slow, firm line all the way across his broad shoulders. Daryl let out a low throaty groan and dropped his head back. Shannon kissed his temple and admired his blissful expression. “I love you, Daryl. Seeing you with Harper tonight made me fall in love with you even more. I never experienced the kind of love and gentle guidance that you give to Harper. You’re doing everything right with her. You’re a good daddy. The best.”

Daryl absorbed what she said to him as she continued working to lighten his tension. It meant everything that she thought of him as a good father. Hearing that she believed him to be doing such a good job helped relieve much of the guilt he felt about making Harper own up to her misdeed. 

“Thank you,” he whispered. He didn’t quite trust his voice not to betray him. There was great sadness in his heart for Shannon. She’d grown up without the benefit of love and nurturing, yet she was one of the kindest, most loving people he knew. 

After a while, Shannon eased Daryl against her so she could run her fingers through his hair and scratch his scalp. He relaxed with a content sigh and was already having trouble keeping his eyes open. 

“I love you, sweetheart. I’m gonna give you the kind of life that you deserve. I don’t give a damn what this world looks like now, you’re going to have the best that I can give you.”

“You already have.” She wrapped her arms around him and pressed sweet kisses to the top of his head. “I have everything I’ve ever dreamed of and then some.”


	17. Chapter 17

Summer finally relented and gave way to autumn. The mornings were cool and foggy and the evenings were crisp and clear. Shannon and Andrea were working together to clear out everyone’s closet of summer clothes and storing them away to make room for warmer clothing. All of the clothes that Merle and Andrea got had been packed into large plastic totes and put into a storage shed. The guys brought in the containers while the girls unpacked them so they could put away what was still wearable. It was tedious work, but it had to be done. Plus, the weather was perfect for it. They’d woken to a gray, rainy day, so they took advantage of it.

Harper chose to help her Uncle Merle to make lunch for everyone rather than try to help to put away clothes. They were having vegetable soup and grilled cheese. Daryl helped the girls with whatever they needed help with and he kept the laundry cycled. He never would have imagined that the apocalypse would be so domestic. 

Everyone worked and the rain continued to fall. By evening, the house was clean and everything was done and then some. Merle put on a movie and popped some popcorn for Harper. It was just the kind of night that called for one of Harper’s favorite movies, ‘Hotel Transylvania’. She was cozily snuggled between Uncle Merle and Aunt Andrea. She had her feet stretched out in front of her, admiring her freshly painted toes. She and Andrea came to an understanding after the nail polish incident. Andrea would treat Harper to a mani/pedi once a week as long as she promised never to take anything without permission first. 

It didn’t take long for Harper to fall asleep between the warmth of her aunt and uncle. Andrea smiled when she noticed that Merle was staring lovingly at his niece. There was no doubt that he loved that little girl more than there were stars in the sky. He leaned her head over so he could whisper something to Andrea.

“I talked to Eric the other day. He has a lot of supplies in his basement. Medical supplies that he brought home over the years. The kind of things that he’d need in order to deliver a baby. He said that there’s a new family living a little way up the mountain. The woman is a midwife. So, you still wanna make a baby?” 

“You mean it?” Andrea asked with tears dancing in her eyes.

“We can start tonight if you want.” 

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Daryl walked up behind Shannon who was looking out of their bedroom. She was watching the tall pines sway with the wind. He wrapped his arms around her and rubbed his hands up and down her arms.   
“Whatcha lookin’ at, sweetheart?” Shannon leaned against him and hummed at the comfort she felt by being in his arms. 

“I was just watching the rain and listening to the trees groan.” 

“Hell of a lot better than listenin’ to all the groanin’ coming from Merle and Andrea’s room,” Daryl chuckled. I think they must be tryin’ to break some kinda record. Merle’s set on putting a baby in Andrea’s belly the first time they try.”

“Aww! They’re really going to try? That’s so sweet! Andrea and Merle will be great parents. Just think, come summer, there could be a tiny baby with us.” Daryl didn’t miss the almost wistful look that briefly glimmered in her eyes. He turned her around so they both could look out the window together, but he stared at their reflection in the window. They looked good together. He liked the feeling he got when he saw how small she looked swallowed up in his arms. It made him feel strong and capable of protecting her. He loved how she fit against him and the way his heart felt full now. He never had this feeling with anyone else. It felt like he was complete. Like a piece of him had been missing his whole life and he didn’t realize it until they connected. 

He moved her hair so it fell over one of her shoulders and began peppering her neck with kisses. His hot breath on her cool skin caused her to shiver slightly. His hands glided down the soft fabric of her shirt. 

“Can I just hold you in my arms? Kiss and touch you until we fall asleep?” His hands were under her shirt and he was rubbing little circles on her flesh with his thumbs. 

“Of course you can, baby,” Shannon rasped. “I’m yours, Daryl.” Daryl didn’t know that he needed to hear her say that. He didn’t know that those words would have such an impact on the way his heart felt. 

“Say it again. Please, sweetheart.” He held her head in his hands and stared intently into her deep, brown eyes. He brushed his lips over hers and whispered “please” once again. 

“I’m yours, Daryl. I’m yours as long as you want me to be yours.”

Daryl let out a strangled sound, almost like a moan, and wrapped Shannon in his arms. He was in some type of mood that he couldn’t quite figure out, nor could Shannon. He needed to hold her and feel her and to know that she was completely real. He didn’t understand the need he felt, but having her against him calmed him in such a way that he couldn’t begin to explain. 

“Come on,” Shannon urged. She pulled him over to the bed and pulled his shirt over his head. She climbed onto the bed and raised up on her knees and took his face in her hands. “I love you, Daryl. Tell me you’re mine, too.”   
“I’m all yours, sweetheart. Everything I have to give is yours.” Daryl gently tugged out the elastic in her hair, letting her honey brown locks fall past her shoulders. He wound his fingers into her silky hair and kissed her hungrily. Slowly, his hands moved from her hair down to her waist. Soon, they both were completely undressed and falling back onto the mattress. They spent a long time exploring each other with kisses and touches. They made love until they climaxed together. Shannon felt warm and safe in his arms and she was asleep even before he pulled the thick blankets over them. 

Shannon woke Daryl a little while later by stroking his cock and kissing him awake. Her intentions were clear, she didn’t need to explain anything to him. She wanted him and, as far as he was concerned, she could have him anytime she wanted. 

“Well, c’mon then,” Daryl rasped. She moved on top of him and lined him up and slid down his length. “Oh, shit...sweetheart.” He moved his hands over her sides to her breasts. He circled her pierced nipples with the pads of his thumbs. Shannon didn’t hold back her moans or the intensity in which she rode him. Daryl moved them so that he was leaning against the headboard. He pulled her close and held the back of her head as he kissed her. 

“Ohgodyes!” She searched him for a place to hold onto.

“I gotcha, darlin’. I ain’t gonna let ya go.” She settled on gripping one of his forearms and the opposite shoulder while Daryl held her hips, though, his hands wandered to her breasts as often as possible. 

Daryl moved Shannon just enough so he could tease her nipples with his mouth. He gently pinched one while he licked and sucked the other. He was surprised when Shannon put her hand over his and made him pinch harder. 

“You like that, sweetheart? What if I do this?” He bit her nipple and pulled and Shannon nearly lost her mind. The shock of pain blended exquisitely with the pleasure she was feeling. 

“Fuck yes! Oh, Jesus, Daryl! More!” Daryl growled and went at it like it was his life’s mission. His dick was as deep as it could go and it was hitting her just right as she rode him. As soon as he felt her begin to contract around him, he put her on her back and threw her legs over his shoulders. He pistoned into her as he came apart. He had to cover her mouth with his hand and bury his face in the crook of her neck to keep from waking everyone up. 

“Oh, Shannon...my sweet girl,” Daryl crooned into her ear. Shannon continued moaning and her body trembled in his arms. Daryl covered her neck and face and lips with soft, lazy kisses that Shannon could occasionally return.

“I’m not complainin’ one little bit, but where did that come from?” Daryl asked once he regained the ability to breathe and string a sentence together. Shannon’s eyes were closed and she had the slightest grin. 

“Mmmm...I woke up and decided that fucking you was a damn good idea.” Daryl chuckled, shaking his head. 

“Well, anytime you get to feelin’ that way, I ain’t gonna say no.” He sat up and offered her his hands to help her up. “We should get some sleep.” 

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Harper ran out of her room straight to her daddy and Shannon’s bedroom. She didn’t like the groaning noise and the banging sound that woke her up. It was loud and scary and she just knew that there was some kind of monster outside of her window. 

Shannon and Daryl were sleeping like babies after their middle of the night activities. They were sleeping so deeply that they didn’t hear the door banging open or the sound of little feet racing in. 

“Shannon!” Harper cried. Shannon stirred slightly but didn’t wake up immediately. Harper tugged Shannon’s hand and she finally opened her eyes.

“What’s wrong, jellybean?” 

“There’s a monster at my window! I can hear it growling!” Shannon nudged Daryl over and pulled back the covers so Harper could get in next to her.

“There’s not a monster, but you can sleep with us if you want.” Shannon was simply too sleepy to try to prove it to Harper. “Listen.” Harper stilled once she was in bed. “You hear that sound?” Harper nodded and made a frightened whimper. “That’s the sound of the really tall trees swaying in the wind. That’s all it is, sweetie. Snuggle up and I’ll keep you safe and warm.”

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Shannon was sure that the distant knocking she heard was coming from a dream. It was annoying that she couldn’t make it stop no matter what she tried. Even worse, Harper had her pinned where she was. 

“Daryl,” she whispered, reaching behind her to shake him. “Baby, wake up.” 

“Hmm? What’s wrong?”   
“Do you hear knocking or banging? I thought it was a dream, but I still hear it.”

Daryl sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. “Yeah. Yeah, I hear it.” He quickly got out of bed and pulled on a shirt. “Stay here. I’ll go check it out.” Daryl unlocked the drawer in his nightstand and grabbed the gun he kept in there. Seeing that did very little to settle Shannon’s nerves. She whispered for him to be careful and he gave her a little nod as he went out the door.

“What in the fuck is that?” Merle cursed when he met Daryl in the hall.

“Dunno. Only one way to find out for sure. I’ll look out back and you take the front.” Merle agreed and chambered his weapon as he walked to the living room. Daryl peeked around the corner into the kitchen at the glass doors leading to the patio. It was as black as pitch outside as there was no moon out and there were no street lights, obviously. Daryl had no choice but to go to the doors to get a better look, but the knocking came again before he got there. It was coming from the front door. 

Merle quietly tried to get a look out to see just who in the hell was beating on his front door in the middle of the night, but there wasn’t any way he could see who it was unless he turned on the porchlight. 

Merle and Daryl looked at one another and silently agreed on how they were going to handle this. Daryl would hide behind the door when Merle opened it. They were both armed and nothing or no one would get past them. 

Merle opened the door with his finger resting on the trigger guard of his gun. He carefully scanned the width of the porch, to the right and then to the left. He furrowed his brow, confused by the absence of anything to create the sound that had him and his brother out of bed. A gust of wind started the trees swaying again and a loud crack caused Merle to draw down. Daryl moved to his side and started laughing as soon as he saw what it was.

“Damn, brother. You just about put a bullet in a tree limb.” Merle scowled, which caused Daryl to laugh even harder. “Good to know that we got you to keep us safe from the mighty oak.”

“Shut the hell up,” Merle barked. “And, don’t you say not one goddamn word about it to Andrea. Bad enough your ass is laughin’ at me.”


	18. Chapter 18

“I’m sorry, but can we at least talk about this before you agree to go rushing out to town, to the hospital of all places?” Shannon paced around their bedroom and she clearly was on the verge of having a panic attack. She had been since the group of fellow preppers showed up to talk with Merle about a plan they had. 

Dwight, Abraham, Rick, Shane, and the new guy whose family finally made it to their SHTF home recently chatted with Merle on the ham radio about getting together for a short meeting. Merle asked that they get the word out to the rest of the community and get everyone to meet at his place Saturday morning. That gave them half of a week to get everyone looped in on the meeting.

Shane started by telling everyone that he had an idea that they needed to have some sort of hospital for the community. It would be rugged, but if they could get a group together with trucks and trailers, they could go to the hospital in town and get all the supplies they would need to last for a good long time. 

“Makes good sense,” Merle stated, rubbing his scruffy cheeks. “We need something like that for us. Do we have people who know medical stuff   
M  
that can run the place?”

Jerry, the new guy in the group, stepped up. “My wife, Nabila, she’s a midwife. We know that Eric was a nurse practitioner, and someone here was an EMT or something.”

The group discussed all of the minutia for hours until it was decided that they would work on the old block and cement building that had been home to a motorcycle club until the virus started. No one had been back there for months, so they assumed it would be safe to appropriate the building for the greater good. 

“I’ve been in there and there’s a full basement that we can use for storage. We can build sheds for what don’t fit down there,” Abraham suggested. 

“Alright,” Merle started. “Sounds like we got most of a plan. Let’s decide who wants to do what. If ya don’t want to go on runs to the hospital, then we’ll expect ya to work on getting the club fit to be our medical center.” 

“We’re gonna need to try to do this all in one run,” Daryl said. “I know it’s been a few months since I was in town, but if it’s not any better than it was then, it’s gonna have to be a one and done.” 

They hammered out all of the fine details and had everything planned before they broke. Daryl was heading up the supply crew and Merle was heading up the construction crew. And, now, Shannon was about to wear a hole in the bedroom floor because she couldn’t be still and she couldn’t get a grip on the anxiety that threatened to leave her in a heap. 

“C’mere, sweetheart.” Daryl patted the bed beside where he was sitting. She tried to sit, God knows that she did, but she just couldn’t. When she was still, it felt like everything was closing in on her and it was hard to breathe. 

“I can’t. Daryl, there are so many other people who can go and can handle it. Why do you have to?” Dammit. Now, she was beginning to cry and sound like a petulant child who wasn’t getting her way, and that frustrated her even more. That wasn’t how she wanted to come across. “Shit, Daryl. I’m scared. What am I supposed to do if you don’t come back?”

“Hey, my sweet girl, I’m comin’ back. Ain’t nothin’ keeping me from you or Harper. I promise you.” He thumbed away the tears that fell and kissed her forehead. “We got our whole lives ahead of us and I plan to be here to get old with you. You believe me?” 

Shannon nodded her head against his shoulder. She did believe him, but she was scared out of her mind. 

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The construction crew spent three days emptying the building of its contents and building shelves in the basement. If anyone wanted to keep anything that was hauled out, they could. Anything that wasn’t claimed, or that couldn’t be reconfigured into something that was beneficial to the medical center, was burned. As soon as they gave the go-ahead, that the building was ready to receive stock, the supply crew was prepared to head out at first light.

“I promise you, sweetheart, I’m going to be ok. We’re going to pack everything we can up until we have to leave before it gets dark. I’ll be home tonight.” Daryl held Shannon against his chest and tried to comfort her as much as he could. She was crying and he couldn’t stand it. He shushed her, kissing the top of her head and rubbing small circles on her back. 

“Look,” Daryl pulled a piece of paper out of his pants pocket. It was worn thin and torn in a few places. “Aaron wrote this down for me. It’s what you and me do when you’re having a panic attack.” He placed the folded paper in her hand and kissed her fingers. “When you start gettin’ overwhelmed, I want ya to come in here and do these five things. Can ya do that for me?”

Shannon nodded and wiped away her tears. “Just promise me that you’ll come back to us.” Daryl cupped her chin with two of his fingers and his thumb and tilted her head. He kissed her lips softly and just held her that way for a long time.

“I promise. You and Harper are my whole world, Shannon. I’m comin’ back. Ain’t nothin’ in this world strong enough to stop me.”

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Daryl and Abraham took point on the supply run. Daryl, because he knew how to handle the dead. Abraham, because he had military experience and was good with strategy. It was decided that Eric wouldn’t come on this trip, even though he had been with Daryl when they came to get baby Nora. One of the first decisions they made was that all of the people with medical training would be protected, and that meant that they would not be going anywhere near danger. 

Daryl led the convoy to the hospital. They had a group of eight trucks and SUVs that all hauled a trailer of some sort. Their goal was to completely fill every square inch of available space in the vehicles and trailers. It was going to be a long, hard day and they planned to work without stopping. Everyone brought something they could eat while moving. They were ready to get this done and get the fuck out of this zombie infested shithole. 

The front of the hospital was overrun, so Daryl guided everyone around back. Thank Christ it was gated. Getting the gate open would require one person breaking the lock and a couple of others keeping the dead off of them. Abraham brought up the rear. He climbed through the sunroof of the SUV he was driving and started picking off corpses while the occupants of the first four vehicles behind Daryl got out to protect him while he worked on the lock. They did all of this without having spoken of a plan before. Daryl smiled to himself as he worked as fast as he could to get everyone inside. Today was going to be a good day.

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“Well, we’re dicked to the fuckin’ balls,” Abraham advised. Someone, with their infinite stupidity, thought it would be wise to lock a whole gaggle of deadites in the pharmacy. They desperately needed to get in there and empty it. Now, they had the complication of emptying it of biters before they could take the meds. Getting the secure door to open was going to be yet another obstacle. 

Daryl thought for a minute, worrying his fingers through his goatee. “I got an idea. What if we get the door open, we tie it off with something so we can pull it closed without having to get too close? We open it enough to let one or two out at a time and take them out.”

“I say that you maybe added some lube so we ain’t gettin’ dry dicked,” Abe laughed. “I think that might just work.” 

For the better part of an hour, Daryl, Abe, and a few others took care of ridding the pharmacy of the dead. The remainder of the group broke off to begin gathering what they could and placing it by the loading dock. 

As soon as the pharmacy was cleared, the group went in and started tossing bottles of pills, IV bags, and anything else that wasn’t nailed down into big boxes that someone found. There was an area where broken-down boxes waited for pickup from a recycling company. They found a roll of packing tape and reassembled boxes to help make transporting the goods easier. 

By the time evening arrived, everyone was sore and exhausted. It was too dark and dangerous to try to look for anything more in the hospital, so now, everyone was loading what they looted into trailers, truck beds, and SUVs. They reserved the horse trailer for equipment such as portable ultrasound and EKG machines. One of the larger flatbed trailers was loaded with a few exam tables and stretchers. One of the SUVs had all of the rear seats removed beforehand and was filled with clean hospital sheets, blankets, and gowns. The back of Daryl’s truck was loaded with gloves, sealed trays containing various medical implements, suture kits, catheters, and the boxes of every kind of medicine they were able to find. He was more tired than he ever remembers being in his whole life, but it felt good that they soon would be going home.

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Things went very wrong very quickly. It was darker than it should have been when they were finally loaded and heading back. Daryl and everyone else knew that they needed to leave, but they were so close to having everything packed that they decided the benefit outweighed the risk. They very well may need to make another run back to the hospital, but they felt confident that they had more than enough to last the community for a long time. When they pulled onto the two-lane road that would take them back to the turn-off for home, the road was thick with the dead. Daryl kept his speed moderate and even. If he went too fast, he risked losing control, too slow and he and everyone else would get jammed up. 

The first five vehicles made it through just fine. The driver of the sixth one, instinctively slowed down when some walkers ambled in front of him. His slow speed gave the walkers enough time to start surrounding the remaining trucks. Fortunately, each one had a passenger. Abraham stuck his head through the sunroof and yelled for everyone to shoot what they could and keep moving. The last vehicle that made it through stopped and both Jim and Cathy jumped out to help try and clear the way so the rest of the group could make better progress. They flashed their headlights to let the others ahead of them know that they were stopping. 

Daryl saw the headlights flashing and stopped. He was out and running along with the others within seconds. Everyone was picking off walkers even as they ran, but Jim and Cathy had a large group of walkers bearing down on them. 

“CATHY!” Jim screamed her name over and over. Cathy had panicked when walkers began closing in on her and started running. Daryl and his group ran as fast as they could to get to her, but the dead were coming at them, too. 

Daryl watched it unfold before him in slow motion. Everything had a muffled sound to it. He’d be grateful for that later. Cathy fought and climbed, and ran with all of the vigor of someone half her age. She almost got away, but her focus was solely on the dozen or so dead at her front. Their combined guttural noises drowned out any sounds from anything else. She never heard the lone animated corpse coming up behind her, and she never registered hearing any of her group’s warning cries. The ghoul sunk its teeth into the side of her neck and the arterial spray of blood went out in a wide arch. Daryl would swear until his dying day that even as far away as he was he could smell the scent of her blood even over the ungodly odor of the walking dead. 

Jim was out of his mind with fear and agony and anger and every negative emotion. Nothing was going to keep him from getting to Cathy. None of the group could get close enough to stop him. Maybe he went after Cathy with hopes that she was ok. Maybe he made the sacrifice for the group because he didn’t want to go on without her. Maybe he was just too consumed by his emotions for any rational thought. They would never know. 

“Move!” Daryl hissed into Glenn’s ear. They had to move while they had the chance, otherwise, they may as well run up the hill and join Jim and Cathy. Glenn nodded his head at Maggie and waved for her to take over Jim’s truck. Everyone else got the idea and hauled ass back to their own vehicles.

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Daryl was grateful that Harper was asleep when he got home. He was physically and emotionally drained and he knew that he couldn’t be the kind of daddy that she deserved. He wasn’t sure that he could be anything to anyone tonight. Glenn offered to drive Daryl home rather than have him wait until the truck was unloaded. Neither he nor Glenn or Maggie talked during the short ride. There really was nothing to say. They’d all seen what happened and no one felt like rehashing it. 

Daryl muttered a quick and quiet “thanks for the ride” after Glenn and Maggie declined an invitation inside for something to eat or drink. They wanted to get home and do whatever they needed to do to rid themselves of the awful day. 

Everyone noticed his demeanor when he walked through the door. His responses were short and quiet, making it clear that he was not in the mood to talk. He turned down the dinner that Shannon offered to heat up for him and told everyone that he just wanted to take a shower and go to bed. Shannon looked to Merle as if he had any more information than she did. 

Shannon started to knock on the bathroom door, but when she heard his muffled cries, she went right in. Daryl stood under the spray with his head pressed against his hands. His body shook as he tried to be quiet. 

“Daryl? What’s wrong, baby?” He turned and his eyes were filled with tears and sadness and it just about killed her. She turned off the shower and started filling the tub instead. Daryl watched her undress and then step into the water. “Come on,” she offered her hand to guide him in front of her. Once he was settled between her legs, she eased him back and began working her fingers through his hair.

“I don’t know what happened and you don’t have to talk about it tonight if you don’t want to. When you’re ready, I’ll be ready to hear every word of it. I love you. I’m here for whatever you need.”

What Daryl needed was to cry it out. He turned somewhat onto his side and buried his face against her arm and let it all out. His heart broke for Jim who had to watch helplessly as his wife died in front of him. His heart broke for Cathy as her final moments were filled with terror and pain. And, finally, he cried for everyone who had to witness it. It would haunt him for a long time he figured. Mostly, he thought that he was so emotional because he couldn’t stand the thought of losing Shannon. Losing Harper was an even more unbearable thought. 

The whole time he sobbed, Shannon stroked his back with her hands and gently raked her fingers across his scalp. Daryl felt like he’d cried for hours, but in reality, it was only a short time. He simply had too many emotions and they all came leaking out of his eyes. He sat up after a little while, feeling loads better than he did. He looked at Shannon and she could see how tired he was. Tonight was not the night to dredge up whatever bad thing had happened. Tonight, Daryl needed rest.

They got into bed and he reached for her. “No. Tonight, you’re going to be right here.” She patted the place below her shoulder where he sometimes slept. “I’m going to hold you and I’m not letting you go.”


	19. Chapter 19

A week passed and Daryl was dealing with the after-effects of the run. He had nightmares almost every night, but Shannon was right there to calm his fears and ground him every time. Merle and Andrea did everything they could to help when Daryl seemed to need a little room to breathe. 

Shannon lay on her side, bundled up in the warm blankets. Her lips turned up in a tiny smile as she watched Daryl sleep. He had gone to sleep easily and got through the night without jumping awake and drenched with sweat. In the early morning light, he looked rested and peaceful. She decided that she would make the whole day as good as possible for him. Maybe they could go for a walk or something. Harper had been asking to go out and gather leaves, acorns, and pinecones for some crafts she and Andrea were planning to make. 

“Good morning, handsome. You slept good last night.” Daryl stretched and rubbed the sleep from the corners of his eyes before pulling Shannon against him. 

“Mmmm-hmmm,” Daryl hummed. “You interested in giving me a good mornin’?” He rubbed his hand down to her ass and squeezed it. She answered his question by slipping her hand over his growing erection.

“I sure am.” She eased him onto his back and slid on top of him. “Have I ever mentioned that you have a beautiful body?” Daryl’s scoff turned into a moan as Shannon kissed and sucked and then soothed away the sting with a swirl of her tongue all over his neck. 

“I’m not sure I need too much of a warm-up. It’s been a few days.” Shannon still worked her way down to his throbbing dick.

“I’m warming you up for tonight.” She kissed the tip and slowly traced her tongue around the rim of the head of his cock. “We’re going to have a good day and then we’re going to come back to our bed tonight and make love all night long.” She swirled her tongue around the tip again and then ran it down the length of his shaft. Daryl sucked in a sharp breath and a shiver shot all the way through him. Shannon began working his length into her mouth while stroking him with her hand. The combinations of dual sensations already had him in overdrive. 

“I’m not gonna last long...mmmmm. Fuck that feels good.” He had just enough presence of mind to gather her hair into a ponytail before he lost all coherent thought. 

Shannon hummed around his girth, turning her eyes up to his in time to see them roll back in his head. His hands roamed over as much of her as he could touch before moving his hands back to her hair. His body was completely in control of itself and as much as he tried to restrain himself, his hips bucked and his fingers curled into fists in her hair.

“I’m so close...fuck, your mouth is so good.” Daryl writhed under her power. She knew just how to get him right to the finish in a hurry if she was so inclined. This morning, she was definitely inclined. She moaned right along with him, spurring him on even more. His head was thrown back into the pillows and he was moaning in a steady stream and his body tensed as the coil in his belly tightened. Shannon intensified her efforts, humming her encouragement to just let go. 

“Oh God...yeah, yeah, right there. Don’t stop...fuuuuuuuck,” he growled. His muscles tightened as his orgasm overpowered him. 

“Come on, sexy. Let’s get out of this house and have some fun today.” 

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After breakfast, Daryl decided he wanted to go for a drive to the top of the mountain. He hadn’t been there in ages and Shannon and Harper had never been. They piled into Daryl’s Jeep after he made sure that there was plenty of gas. 

“Daddy, what’s at the top of the mountain?” Harper asked from her seat in the back. 

“A really pretty view of the rest of the mountains. Plus, all of the leaves have turned so it’s gonna be even more beautiful.” 

“Shannon, I’m cold. Will you reach my blanket, please?” Shannon dug the blanket out of the bag that she put together for Harper. She figured that the little girl would become any combination of bored, sleepy, hungry, thirsty, or cold, so she packed a little something for everything. 

Daryl and Shannon held hands for the entire drive. It was every bit as gorgeous as Daryl said it would be. The sky was cloudless and bright blue. The leaves were every shade of red, orange, and yellow. Shannon didn’t know how long they drove, not that it mattered, but it was shaping up to be a wonderful adventure. It was almost like taking a vacation. Plus, she and Daryl talked about how unlikely it would be that there would be any zombies that far up. There weren’t any houses for miles below the top. 

“Too bad we can’t build a house up here,” Shannon commented as she took in the view. It was breathtaking in every direction she turned. 

“It’d be nice until winter came, then you’d be ready to haul everything back to Merle’s. The wind picks up something fierce up here and winters are harsh. Maybe we could build us a little vacation shack up here,” Daryl teased. He moved in a circle and pointed out a spot near a thicket of pine trees. “We could put it right over there and build an outhouse just to the side.”

Shannon wrinkled her nose and shook her head. “Thanks, but I’ll take a pass on anything involving outhouses. Thank God for Merle’s state-of-the-art septic system and running water. His conspiracy theories and dream of living off-grid have been a miracle for us.”

“Yeah, it has been. I’m just glad that we all get to be together. Listen, I know it can be a little overwhelming sometimes with all of us under one roof. I’ve been thinking that maybe Merle is right about building that watchtower he’s been talking about. He says that between everyone in the community and with what he has on hand, we can build an apartment in it. We could live in it if you wanted.” 

“I love having us all together in one place, but there are times when I would love to have a little more privacy.”

“It’s not like we couldn’t stay in the cabin with Merle and Andrea whenever we wanted. I was just thinking that a little more privacy could be fun.” Daryl checked on Harper who was nearby collecting acorns. “We’d have our own place. And, if their plan of clearing the dead out of town works, we could go and pick out some new furniture.”

“I like the idea of picking out new furniture, but I don’t want to talk about the plan today. Somehow, luring a city’s worth of reanimated corpses to the quarry and detonating all of the dynamite the farm supply has doesn’t fit into my plan of happiness and fun.” 

Daryl wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. You’re right. We won’t talk about it anymore today.”

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Harper was excited to show Aunt Andi all of the leaves, acorns, pinecones, and rocks she found, so they wrapped up their excursion pretty early. 

“So, I have to ask, Daryl, does Merle want us to move out? I mean, is he tired of a full house?” It had been gnawing at Shannon since he told her about the watchtower idea.

Daryl chuckled and kissed her hand. “No, sweetheart, not at all. Merle is as happy as a pig in shit to have all of us there. He mentioned a few different ways and places that the tower can be built. A few of those are on different spots on the property, but most of ‘em are attached to the cabin. He ain’t ever gonna be tired of us being there, so you got nothin’ to worry about.” Shannon still looked a little worried and Daryl could practically hear the gears grinding as they created more anxiety for her. “Hey, look here,” he urged, peeking at her from the side of his eyes. “When we had that community meeting after the run, building towers was something that was brought up. We all agreed that we needed to build as many as we could so we can keep an eye on things. Merle’s been drawin’ up sketches and stuff since that time when your hand got hurt.” Daryl didn’t dare say anything overt so Harper didn’t hear anything she didn’t need to hear, and so Shannon hopefully didn’t think too much about that night.”

“It makes sense. The sooner we know something, the better we can prepare to take care of it. I’ve been meaning to borrow some of his books. I want to learn how to make some improvised weapons and things like that.”

“That’s a good idea. I’ll help you if you want me to.”

“Sounds romantic,” she teased. “I love it when you talk explosives with me.” Daryl snorted and shook his head. 

“You’re a brat.”

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Harper had heard bits and pieces of the conversation between her daddy and Shannon. There was something about Uncle Merle wanting to build a new place for them to live. She didn’t like that one bit. She didn’t get to live in the house that she’d lived in for her whole life anymore, and now it seemed that she wasn’t going to get to live at Uncle Merle’s house. She didn’t hear the whole conversation, and mostly, she’d started thinking of ways that she was going to give her uncle a piece of her mind. She was mad and he was going to know all about it. But, when they pulled into the driveway and she saw Aunt Andi sitting on the porch, she forgot all about it in favor of showing off the treasures she collected.

As soon as Shannon unbuckled her from the car seat, Harper grabbed her buckets and started running with all of the excitement that can be contained in a little girl. She couldn’t wait for Andrea to tell her what a good job she’d done.

“Slow down, Harper,” Daryl cautioned. “You’re liable to dump your buckets.” Just like any parental warning, the odds were more in favor of the parent than the child. Maybe carrying buckets in both of her hands threw her off-balance, maybe it was just that she was running too fast and her feet decided not to keep up, it didn’t matter much because she went down and her buckets went out to either side. 

Daryl had pretty much seen it play out that way in his mind and was already moving to get his now screaming little girl. Shannon and Andrea got to her almost as soon as Daryl scooped her up from the gravel. Harper didn’t know what to scream about most, the pain from her scraped up knees, hands, and chin, or her buckets of spilled treasure, so she did what any upset little girl would do and screamed about both.

“Alright, let’s look at’cha,” Daryl said as he put her on the steps. She skinned her knees through her jeans and blood was starting to seep through the denim. Daryl thought it would be best to take them off so the material didn’t dry to her knees. Peeling them off later would hurt a lot worse, he reasoned. 

“STOP, DADDY!” Her scream was so ear-piercing that Daryl’s hearing momentarily muffled. He looked to her to see if he was hurting her in some way, but then she screamed about not wanting everyone to see her underwear. 

“Ok, ok...we’ll go inside and get you all fixed up.”

Shannon and Andrea figured that the best thing they could do to make her feel better was to pick up the contents of the buckets. Daryl cradled Harper against his shoulder as he carried her into the house. She was crying so hard that she was starting to gag a little. Her tears were stinging the scrape on her chin like fire. 

“What’s going on with my little pumpkin?” Merle had been in the kitchen making lunch for him and Andrea when he heard Harper crying. All of the sudden, Harper wiggled to get out of Daryl’s arms. He set her on the floor, thinking that she wanted Uncle Merle to kiss her boo-boos all better. Harper had a look of anger on her face that stopped both men in their tracks. She marched right over and kicked Merle in the shin as hard as she could.

“OUCH! What’d I do?” Merle howled, hopping around and rubbing his throbbing leg.

“You’re making us move and I like it here!”

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Shannon and Daryl dropped onto the bed at the same time, both letting out a long sigh. After they got Harper’s scrapes cleaned and bandaged, they were on damage control with Merle and Andrea for the rest of the day. Merle sat down with Harper and showed her the drawings of what he wanted to build. They all explained that they had to be on watch in case any bad people wanted to take any of their stuff. It wasn’t like they could tell her that zombies were roaming around freely and there was a chance that they could come to their house.

“So much for a happy, carefree day,” Shannon groaned. Daryl rolled over onto his side and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

“I had a good day. I mean, we’re used to Harper getting upset over something. Her kickin’ Merle was just an added bonus,” Daryl snickered. “You gave me a good day. Getting out of here and getting some fresh air got me out of my head. I didn’t realize just how much I’ve been dwelling on shit.” His fingers brushed across her cheek and slipped into her hair. He licked his lips and he gave her a little crooked grin before kissing her. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, baby. I was thinking,” she started as she lazily trailed her fingers over Daryl’s chest. “Harper’s pretty heartbroken about not getting to trick-or-treat. I’ve been thinking that maybe we should do something like a big community Halloween party. We could ask that everyone make some kind of candy or treat. Maybe have a bonfire. It makes me sad that the kids aren’t going to have normal holidays anymore.” 

“That’s a good idea, sweetheart. We’ll talk to Merle and get the word out.” Shannon yawned despite wanting to talk more about Halloween. “You’ve got sleepy eyes, darlin’. C’mon. Snuggle up and I’ll keep ya warm.” They were both soon asleep and Daryl slept the night through without a nightmare.


	20. Chapter 20

“You alright in there, sugar?” Merle asked the closed bathroom door. Andrea wasn’t feeling well and had slept most of the day. Merle was worried about her and brought dinner to her on a tray. His romantic gesture sent her running to the toilet with her hand over her mouth. Merle followed only to have the door slammed in his face. 

Andrea gripped the sides of the bowl and hurled the ginger ale and crackers she’d sipped and nibbled throughout the day. 

“Honey, can I come in? I wanna make sure you’re alright.” Andrea wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and groaned something that sort of sounded like “come in”. 

“Darlin’, you’re lookin’ green around the gills.” He wet a washcloth with cold water and got down on the floor with her. “C’mere, honey. Let’s clean you up.” Merle tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear and dabbed her cheeks with the towel. “Did you get it all up, or do you think you need to sit here awhile?” 

“I think I need to lie on the floor and die.” Andrea crawled her way down and laid her head on Merle’s lap. “Do you think I could put my head on your lap and die in reasonable comfort?” 

“You can put'cha head on my lap, darlin’, but you ain’t dyin’ til we’re old and decrepit.” He scooted around until he was situated so that Andrea could be as comfortable as possible on the bathroom floor.

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Shannon was in the center of the bed with a notebook in front of her and a pen between her teeth. Merle sent out the alert about the Halloween bash and told everyone that Shannon was in charge. It wasn’t exactly what she planned, but since she was given the duty, she was giving it her all. 

Daryl came in, fresh out of the shower, and dressed in a pair of camouflage pants that rode low on his hips. He liked watching Shannon’s face scrunch up as she made edits to her pages of notes. When she worked on something, she completely blocked out everything else and gave the work her full attention. She didn’t know that Daryl was watching her, nor did she realize that the playfully amused look on his face morphed into a sexually hungry one. 

“How’s it going?” Daryl asked as he slid onto the bed beside her. He leaned over and slipped his hand up the back of her shirt and tickling his fingers over her warm skin. Shannon wiggled about, trying to pretend like she was ignoring him and focusing on her lists. Daryl was feeling a certain kind of way and he was damned and determined that he was going to get her attention one way or another. He moved a bit closer and pushed her shirt up a little and started kissing her side and around to her back as he moved even closer.

“Daryl,” Shannon giggled. “I have to finish these lists and then we have to go out and gather up dead flowers and stuff to use as decoration.”

“Mmm-hmm,” Daryl hummed as he continued kissing his way up her spine. “We’ll get it done. I was just noticing that you looked a little tense,” his lips traveled up to the little spot behind her ear that sent shivers all the way through her.

“You’re not playing fair.” Her attempt at a warning came out as more of a moan than anything. 

“Ain’t tryin’ to, sweetheart.” He traced the tip of his tongue around the edge of her ear and pulled the soft lobe between his teeth. “How ‘bout you let me relieve some of that tension and then we’ll both work on your lists.” By now, Daryl was moving her notebook and pen off of the bed and was crawling around in front of her. “Merle and Andrea are still in their room and Harper is sound asleep. We’ve got a little time before we’re interrupted.” He eased Shannon onto her back and captured her smile with a deep kiss. 

Shannon easily let him push her back onto the fluffy blankets and tipped her head back as he kissed all down her neck and across her collar bones. She sighed as she felt his hands under her shirt, slowly making their way to her breasts. He loved her pierced nipples and loved playing with them as much as she enjoyed him doing it. He let them slide between his fingers as he squeezed her breasts over and over again. He pushed up her shirt and let his mouth take over. Shannon moaned as Daryl sucked a nipple into his mouth and held it between his tongue and the roof of his mouth. He pulled his head back, letting it slowly slip past his teeth.

“Imma eat you alive, woman,” Daryl growled as he dropped off the side of the bed. He pulled her leggings and panties as he went and tossed them over his shoulder and pulled her to the edge of the mattress. Shannon clapped her hands over her mouth and laughed. 

Daryl grabbed the back of her thighs and pushed her legs wide apart and dove into her with the ferocity of a starving man. In a matter of minutes, Shannon was clawing at the sheets and her thighs were firmly clamped around his head. He went right for the kill from the jump and he wasn’t letting up no matter how hard she pulled his hair or begged him. 

“I...can't take it!” Shannon’s voice was shrill and she did her best to be mindful that there were other people in the house that she likely was disturbing. 

“Yeah, ya can,” Daryl quickly replied. He returned his mouth to its rightful place and added his fingers into play and kept going until she begged him to fuck her.

“There’s my dirty girl,” he grinned like the devil as he climbed over her, lining himself up. “I knew I’d get ya to talk dirty to me.”

She grabbed his ass and pulled him, urging him on. “Shut up and fuck me already.” 

“Mmmm...gettin’ sassy.” He pushed into her and they groaned out altogether. “I want more of it.”

“I want...oh, God…” she moaned underneath him. “Fuck me good, Daryl. Put...I want...Mmmmm. Legs on your shoulders.” 

Daryl growled with excitement and happily obliged her, moving into her with long, slow strokes that ended with a hard thrust every time. He wound their fingers together and held her hands over her head and watched her body bow in the middle, pushing her head into the pillow. He kissed her lips, along her jaw, and down her neck and Shannon was in a state of complete ecstasy. 

“C’mon, sweet girl. You’re so close. I can feel it, baby,” Daryl panted into her ear. “Just let go, sweetheart. Let me have it all.”

His voice was gruff and his hot breath tickled her ear. He squeezed her hands and doubled his efforts to bring her over the precipice. Shannon cried out as her body responded to his. It was like this every time for them. Daryl never failed to take her further and gently push her to explore and break through her self-imposed boundaries. No one had ever made her feel so free and so safe. 

“That’s it, baby,” Daryl moaned. “Oh, God...Shannon…let yourself go.” And, she did. There was nothing holding her back. No fear, no constraints, and no shame of allowing herself to achieve the kind of orgasm that Daryl intended her to have. 

In those final moments, Daryl rested his forehead against hers and held her tight through their shared aftershocks, kissing her as much as he could make his lips perform the task.

“I love you, darlin’.” Daryl breathed hard and his heart was still racing as he rolled onto his side next to her. His hands moved all over her naked flesh, steadying her breath and calming her trembling. 

“I love you, Daryl.” Her big brown eyes turned to his and he knew that he never wanted to know a single moment without her by his side. 

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Andrea napped for a little while once she was able to get back into bed. Merle put a bottle of ginger ale on her nightstand for when she woke up. They were pretty sure what was causing her nausea, but they weren’t saying anything to anyone yet. When she woke up from her nap, she felt better than she had when she was forced out of bed earlier. 

Shannon was in the kitchen doing an inventory of her lists. There was a large pot on the stove that was turning brown sugar, butter, and cream into caramel for the caramel apples and caramel popcorn they were making for treats for the party. 

“Good morning,” Shannon greeted happily. “Want some coffee?” She was pouring herself a third cup and was excitedly working her way through the lists. 

“Coffee would be great, thanks. Where do you need me? I’m ready to get this thing going.”

“How crafty are you? I want to decorate these plain bags so they look Halloween-y.” Andrea broke out into a happy smile and left the room. She returned a few minutes later with her arms loaded with all kinds of crafting supplies.

“Those kids better be excited about Halloween, ‘cause they are getting the most Halloween themed bags ever created!” Shannon giggled, thrilled by Andrea’s enthusiasm. 

“Merle, Daryl, and Harper headed out a little while ago to get dead flowers and those wooden vine things to use for decoration. Merle said we could use the straw that’s in the small barn to make some scarecrows and we have all kinds of corn stalks that we can bind together and put at each of the tables and the games. Merle, Daryl, and a bunch of guys are going to set everything up tomorrow morning and the party will start sometime around five. 

“What kind of food do we have coming? Do we need to make anything else?” Andrea asked as she hot-glued construction paper cutouts onto the bags. They were going to be ghosts and jack o’ lanterns when they were finished. 

“I was thinking about making cupcakes, but I haven’t committed to the idea yet.” 

“OH! We could make little ghosts and pumpkin cupcakes to match the bags!” Andrea was getting more and more excited about the party and seeing all of the happy children.” She felt like her maternal instincts were in overdrive and she thought she knew why. Shannon loved her idea and they agreed that they would put cupcakes on the list for a little later. 

“Shannon, this party was a great idea. I think we all need it in the worst way.” Shannon was stirring the caramel. It was at the stage where it had to be stirred constantly now. 

“As long as everything comes together and everyone has fun, I’ll be happy. Maybe we’ll have to do a community get-together for all of the holidays. You know, just a way to keep things normal.”

Andrea hummed her agreement. “Normal is a hell of a thing these days. Not a lot of that going on since we’re all learning a new normal. I’m all for doing community stuff to keep us all working together and having that sense of comfort. Maybe we should have a meeting or something and form a committee.”

“Good idea. We’ll talk to the guys about it and get their input. We’re all one big family now, so I think the idea will go over well. Maybe we need to come up with some kind of meeting place or something.” 

Andrea agreed and stopped making bags long enough to jot down their ideas on a blank page in Shannon’s notebook. “Girl, I think we might just be coming into this whole off-the-grid-living business. We’ll be the official first ladies of the new world!”


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all, I am SORRY!!! I haven't forgotten this story, nor have I forgotten how loyally so many people have been reading it. Life has been completely insane lately & the time that I have to write has been dramatically reduced. I miss it terribly, but sometimes, something amazing comes along & you just have to follow it to see where it leads. I am doing my best to restructure my day so that I have time to do all of the things that I need to get done & still have time to do the things that I want to do. Striking a balance has been difficult, but I'm working on it. I have a few more chapters ready to go that I am going to post tonight, so maybe that makes up for the long delay at least a little. I hope that everyone had a good and safe Thanksgiving, if you celebrate & I wish you all a safe, healthy, & happy holiday season.

They couldn’t have asked for better weather for the Halloween party. The day started bright and sunny and it warmed up nicely. Merle and Daryl were already hard at work setting up makeshift tables and game areas. Glenn and Maggie were bringing a truckload of hay bales for seating. Hershel was bringing pumpkins from his field. Things were shaping up perfectly.

Shannon was awake before sunrise to make about a million cupcakes and make the buttercream. The caramel apples were ready to be wrapped in cellophane and the caramel popcorn was ready to be put into little treat bags. Merle told Shannon that Andrea had woken with a headache and would be out as soon as the medicine eased it off. Thankfully for him, Shannon didn’t ask any questions. She was too excited about the party and decorating cupcakes to think there could be more to Andrea’s headache. 

Harper went from one station to the next pulling her wagon that was loaded with little pumpkins, gourds, and squash that would be used for table decoration. Andrea followed behind, arranging them as she went. The nausea that kept her wishing for death the previous morning, wasn’t quite as bad this morning, so she was up and helping Shannon with the cupcakes soon after Merle told her that Andrea would be delayed. Everything was going better than they could have hoped.

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Five o’clock came and families began rolling in and Merle had the music playing. Daryl had the bonfire roaring and was keeping a close watch on it. Shannon and Daryl were dressed as 50’s Greasers and Merle and Andrea were dressed up as a farmer and his adorable scarecrow. Harper was a little bandit. Shannon made a little black mask that went around her eyes and dressed her in a black and white striped shirt and black leggings. A black beanie and Harper’s little black shoes, and her costume was complete. Everyone agreed that costumes should be simple and not scary.

“Hey there, sexy,” Shannon said, sauntering up to Daryl. She was drop-dead gorgeous as far as Daryl was concerned. She was wearing black leggings and an off-shoulder top and all of it was tight. Daryl’s hair was slicked back and the sleeves of his t-shirt were rolled up and his jeans were cuffed. “I know that everyone is just starting to get here, but I think everyone is having fun already.”

Daryl slipped his arm around her waist and kissed her. “This was a good idea, sweetheart. I’m really proud of you for pulling it all together. You and Andrea really kicked ass making this happen.”

“Awww! Thanks, babe. You and Merle did all of the hard work. We couldn’t have done it without you.” Shannon spotted Maggie hanging around one of the tables by herself while Glenn helped carry loads of food that others brought. “I’m going to go be social. She looks lonely.” She popped a quick kiss on his lips and Daryl swatted her bottom when she turned to go. “You’re bad! I like it.” She winked and walked away, putting a little more sway into her walk than necessary.

“Hi,” Shannon smiled. “I’m Shannon, Daryl’s girlfriend.”

“Maggie Rhee. It’s good to meet you. My guy is over,” she pointed across the yard where Glenn was. He was carrying a large pot that was full of chili. 

The girls chatted and helped direct where food should go and watched as the kids swarmed the tables full of treats. It was so good to feel like everything was normal. For the first time in months, it felt as though they could all relax for once and just enjoy good company and good food. The children were all laughing and running all over, snagging sweet treats when they thought the grown-ups weren’t looking. Most of the guys were gathered around the bonfire, presumably discussing the power of the flame or some such manly nonsense. 

“You, Daryl, and Harper have to come out to the farm for Sunday dinner,” Maggie said to Shannon as she handed her a cup of hard cider. “We all have felt so isolated since all of this started. It’ll be nice to have friends filling up the house again.”

“We’d love to,” Shannon smiled. “It’s just been us and the occasional person stopping by with something to trade or to share some sort of news. It’ll be nice to have friends again.” 

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The children discovered that Harper had a large play fort in the backyard and they all wanted to play on it. Fortunately, Nabila was more than happy to take them and keep an eye on things. Jerry, of course, went right along with her. He played with all of the kids and was clearly having the time of his life. A few of the other adults went back to keep Jerry and Nabila company and to help keep an eye out for anything nefarious that might be lurking in the woods. 

The others were gathered around the bonfire, sharing funny stories from a better time.  
Shannon scanned the group and did a little victory dance in her head. Tonight was going even better than she hoped. Merle was beginning to tell a story about when he first started building his cabin and Daryl was helping. They had put in a long, hard day but they wanted to push through and finish one last thing before they called it a night. Daryl was kneeling on a board as he cut it with a circular saw. Merle didn’t notice until it was too late, and just as he called out Daryl’s name to warn him, the board let out a sharp crack that they heard over the sound of the saw. Daryl had just enough time to look up at Merle, his eyes huge with the realization of what he’d done and what was about to happen. 

“The board snapped and Daryl went off the tall end of the porch,” Merle laughed. “I heard the thud when he hit the ground. So, I go runnin’ over to check to see how hurt he is, and he’s just layin’ there on his back…” Before Merle could finish his story, a blood-curdling scream made everyone freeze for a split second.

“That’s Harper,” Shannon said, getting to her feet. She didn’t wait for Daryl or even know if he was behind her. All she knew was that Harper was hurt. She knew the difference in her play scream and her hurt one, and this was definitely her hurt one. She ran as fast as her legs would carry her and nearly ran right into Jerry, who had Harper in his arms. His eyes were wide and glassy and he looked like he wanted to cry right along with Harper.

“I’m so sorry, Ms. Shannon. We were watching the kids, I swear. She leaned out of the tower to call down to one of the other kids and she...just fell.” 

“Come here, baby girl. Let’s see what you’ve done.” Shannon took the screaming girl from Jerry and sat down on the ground where they were so she could check her for injuries. 

“It’s her arm. I think it’s broken.” Jerry was well on his way to losing it completely now. He hated it when his kids were hurt and he couldn’t make it better. 

“Mama!” Harper cried. Shannon stopped everything for just a second. Harper just called her “mama” and she didn’t know how to react for a moment. 

“I’ve got you, sweet girl. I’m here. Mama’s right here,” she tried to soothe. Daryl was down on his knees, trying to get a look at Harper’s arm, but any touch or movement made her cry out in pain. 

“Merle! We need some light over here!” Daryl yelled. 

“Hey,” Shane said as he knelt beside Daryl. “Is it alright if I take a look?” Daryl hardly knew the guy, but he knew that he’d been a paramedic and he’d be better suited for telling them if her arm was broken or not. 

Eric quickly joined the little group on the ground. Merle came running a second later with a bright spotlight. 

“I know it hurts, baby girl. We’re going to take care of you,” Shannon whispered this over and over to Harper as though it would take away any of the pain. 

Shane and Eric talked in hushed tones to one another so they didn’t upset Harper anymore than she already was. “Yeah, that’s going to be reduced,” Eric stated. “We need to take her to the infirmary.”

It was a short drive from the cabin and Harper stayed in Shannon’s arms the whole time. All Daryl could do was hold both of his girls as best he could. He kissed each of their heads and reassured them both over and over. 

“I broke my arm when I was a little older than you are,” he started. “Uncle Merle dared me to climb this great big tree. The higher I got, the higher he dared me to go. I got up as high as I was willing to go and I lost my footing on my way down. My mama didn’t know whether to yell at Merle or tend to me,” Daryl mused. “I do seem to remember her dragging Merle around by his ear, though.” 

Harper let out a little giggle, though it was obvious she was still in a lot of pain. “Daddy, my arm hurts.”

“I know it does, sweet girl. We’re gonna get ya all fixed up.” Daryl kissed her forehead and rubbed her cheek with his thumb. 

Eric and Shane quickly set up everything they needed to set and cast Harper’s arm. They were going to have to reduce it as best as they could so it would heal properly. Fortunately, since Daryl and the group of volunteers had cleared out the hospital pharmacy, they had medications that would sedate the little girl safely. Even more in their favor, Eric had worked in an emergency room for several years and he had experience in reducing fractures. 

“Hey, sweetie,” Eric smiled down at Harper. “I have some medicine for you that is going to make that big ouchie not be so bad. It’s going to make you very sleepy and when you wake up, you’ll have a princess pink cast on your arm.” Harper started to get upset again until Eric promised her that she wasn’t getting a shot.

Shannon cradled Harper in her arms until the Ketamine nasal spray took effect completely. They moved Harper onto the stretcher and Shane put an oxygen mask on her and monitored her vital signs. 

It was all over in just a few minutes, and Eric was pleased with the way her arm looked when he was finished. It was the best they could do without the benefit of having an X-ray machine, but he was fairly confident that her arm would heal just fine. 

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“She called you mama,” Daryl whispered as he pulled Shannon tightly against him. They were both exhausted after everything that had happened. “How do you feel about that?”

Shannon traced her fingers over his chest and let out a contented sigh. “Honestly, I couldn’t be more honored. I love that little girl so much. If she wants me to be her mama, I’ll proudly be her mama.” She kissed the center of his chest and looked up to see him looking back at her. “How does it make you feel?”

“I couldn’t ask for a better mama for my little munchkin. You’ve been an answered prayer for us for as long as we’ve known you. Maybe we should make it official somehow.” 

“What did you have in mind? Maybe we could make a certificate or something like that,” Shannon suggested.

“We could do that, but I had something a little bigger in mind.” Despite seeing his little girl in pain and being helpless while her arm was set and put into a cast and being tired from a long day of preparing for the party, Daryl had the softest expression and sweetest smile. His fingers brushed across her cheek as he swept a strand of hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear. “I was thinkin’ that maybe you’d marry me. I know this isn’t the most romantic proposal and I ain’t got a ring, but I want you with me for the rest of my life. Nobody has ever made me feel the way you make me feel. I love you, Shannon.” He searched her eyes, hoping to read her reaction. There were tears there, of course, but he also saw joy and it made his racing heart slow down a bit. “Whaddya say? Will you marry me?”

Shannon nodded and Daryl wiped away a few tears with the pad of his thumb. “Yes, yes, yes…” she replied over and over, kissing him after every single “yes”. “I love you. God, I love you so much. You and Harper make me happy every single day. I’d be honored to be your wife and Harper’s mama.”


	22. Chapter 22

Shannon was up and out of bed before anyone the morning after Harper broke her arm. She thought that there would be a ton of stuff to clean up, but everyone from the party pitched in and took care of it so they could keep their focus on Harper. Shannon couldn’t help but feel blessed to be living in such a loving and thoughtful community. 

Since she was already up, she decided that she would check on Happer and make breakfast for everyone. Daryl had gotten up several times to check on his little girl during the night, and she knew that Merle had worn a path from his room to hers. Harper was completely oblivious to it all. The medication that was used to sedate her while her arm was set kept her nice and sleepy for the rest of the night. 

Shannon, of course, was worried, but she was also still riding the high of being called mama. She hadn’t expected it and made her heart just about burst with pride and love. She’d told Harper that she would be whatever she wanted her to be, and if she wanted her to be her mama, Shannon would be the best mama Harper could ask for. On top of everything, Daryl asked her to marry him. She couldn’t remember a time in her life where she was as happy as she was now. Shannon was lost in her thoughts and didn’t hear Daryl come up behind her. 

“Mornin’, beautiful.” His sleep-hoarse voice was raw and raspy and it sent shivers down her spine. “You’re up early.” He wrapped his arms around her slender waist and kissed the side of her neck. He held her tight and she could feel just how much he loved her. 

Shannon turned around and kissed him, snaking her arms around his neck. 

“Good morning, sexy. Did you manage to get any sleep last night?” Now, she was stroking his cheek and staring into his beautiful blue eyes. His hair was crazy and he had bags under his eyes, but there wasn’t a more handsome man on earth in her opinion. 

“I slept some. I was worried about Harper and kept waking up. I think Merle did more than enough worrying and checking, though. I bumped into him three or four times.” 

“Sit down and I’ll get you some coffee while you wait for breakfast.” 

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When Harper woke up, she made it known that she wanted her mama to snuggle her. Daryl took over breakfast duties and peeked over to watch his two best girls sitting at the table. Shannon cuddled her newly-appointed daughter and wrapped a blanket around her. Mornings had been getting colder, and this morning brought them the first hard freeze of the year. 

“Would you like some hot chocolate to go with your breakfast?” Shannon asked, kissing the top of the little girl’s head. Harper nodded and Daryl was already on it. As far as they were concerned, anything she wanted, she could have. 

“I’m sorry I ruined the party,” Harper pouted. 

“Hey,” Shannon said, lifting her chin so she could make Harper look her in the eye. “You didn’t ruin anything, jellybean. What happened was an accident and we’re just glad that you’re ok and you didn’t get hurt any worse. Don’t you worry about the party. We’ll have more parties and have more chances for you and the other kids to play together.” 

“You promise?” Harper looked absolutely pitiful.

“Of course, silly! There are going to so many parties and dinners that you’ll be sick of them.” That earned Shannon the happy little giggle she wanted to hear. 

“Here ya go, sweet pea. Hot chocolate for my baby girl.” Daryl put the mug on the table and reached out his hands for his daughter. “It’ll cost ya some love, though.” She smiled up at her daddy and it was the sweet smile that always made him feel like he was doing something right as a dad. He picked her up, being careful of her arm, and got the best hugs and kisses he could ask for.

“How’s your arm feeling? Does it hurt much?” Harper shook her head. Maybe it was leftover from the sedation and the anti-inflammatory he gave her when she asked for a drink of water one of the times he checked on her during the night. Whatever it was, Daryl was glad that she wasn’t in pain. 

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The day started out easy enough, but Harper started having pain, and Tylenol and Motrin were barely doing the trick. Merle and Andrea came to the rescue by going to the infirmary to see if there was anything stronger that Eric could give her. They had an ulterior motive for volunteering to go. Andrea had been sick again that morning and they decided it was time to go take a test and find out once and for all. They both were sure that she was pregnant, but they wanted confirmation before they fully accepted it. 

They were quiet and they both acted a little weird when they returned a short time later, but Shannon and Daryl were so occupied with Harper that they paid no mind to it. Both of the Dixon brothers had the biggest news of their lives to tell, but Harper came first.

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“How you feeling, mama?” Merle asked with a pleased grin. Andrea smiled from the bed where she lay on her side, bundled up in the soft, warm blankets. 

“Happy,” she replied, simply. “How are you feeling now that we know for sure?” 

“I’m happy, too, darlin’. To tell you the truth, this is the happiest I’ve ever been in my whole life. I got me a good woman who loves me, a baby on the way, and we’re set up to deal with the end of the world. I’d venture to say that I’ve got it made.”

“I venture to say that we both do.” Merle eased into bed, spooning up against his best girl. 

“I think you might just be right, darlin’. You want me to run my fingers up and down your back until you fall asleep? I know how much you like that.”

“I’d love that almost as much as I love you.” Andrea’s morning sickness had begun to take a toll. She was tired most of the time and her muscles ached and felt weak. Merle held her as close as he could while trailing his fingertips across her neck and shoulder and up and down her back. In no time at all, she was sound asleep, but Merle kept right on touching her soft skin. He could hardly believe that this was his life now. He had put so much time and hard work into building and preparing for the worst-case scenario, that he let his love life fall to the wayside. In the end, it had worked out for the best, but there were times that he felt lonely and like he’d wasted his time. It was strange, surreal even, the way that it all worked out.

Merle’s breathing pattern began to match that of Andrea’s and soon he was drifting off with thoughts of their baby. New life was coming into the Dixon fold and he had his brother to thank for it. If Daryl hadn’t told him that they were working for a future and to keep living the way that people normally would, he wasn’t sure that he would have been able to make the decision to father a child. 

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“What’re you doin’ up?” Daryl asked Merle who was sitting at the kitchen table. It was sometime in the middle of the night and neither of them had been able to get much sleep again. Harper had woken up a couple of times complaining that her arm was hurting. Merle was finally able to convince her to take the yucky medicine that she hated so much, but by then, all of the adults had been awake more than they’d been asleep. 

“Ah, I couldn’t get back to sleep. It’s buggin’ the hell out of me that Harper fell out of the fort that I built for her. I shoulda made sure that nothing like that could happen.”

Daryl got two glasses from the cabinet and a bottle of whiskey. It seemed like the two of them could use a drink tonight.

“Hey, man,” Daryl started as he poured two fingers of whiskey into each glass. “You can’t blame yourself for an accident. I never would have thought that she could fall from where she did. Kids fall. They get hurt. She’s a tough little girl and she’s gonna be just fine.”  
Merle looked a little broken, and, frankly a little surprised. “You mean you ain’t mad at me?”

“Why would I be mad? Hell, brother, you built her something that I could never build and she loves the hell out of that thing. I ain’t been mad for a second, so you can stop worrying about that.”

Merle reached over and squeezed Daryl’s hand and the gesture surprised him. He and Merle had never been particularly affectionate, but they knew that they loved each other and that was all that mattered. 

“You got somethin’ else on your mind?” There was something off about Merle tonight and Daryl had a feeling that it went further than Harper’s broken arm.

Merle tossed back the drink and sighed as the liquid burned its way down. “I’m gonna be a daddy. Andrea’s been getting sick every morning and she took a test when we went to get medicine for Harper. According to her count, she says that she’s about eight weeks along.”

Daryl broke out into a wide smile and congratulated his brother. “That’s great, brother! You’re gonna be a great dad. And, Andrea, she’s so good with Harper and she makes you happy. Looks like we got all kinds of stuff to celebrate.”

“You got somethin’ to tell me, Daryl? You and Shannon got a little bun baking, too?” 

Daryl snorted. “Nah. She’s on birth control and we’re not tryin’ right now.”

“So, what is it? You’ve got something to say. You forget, baby brother, I could always read you like a book.”

“I asked her to marry me. Even with Layla, I never felt anything like I feel with Shannon. I want to spend the rest of my life with her.”

“Would ya look at that! My baby brother is gonna get hitched! Congrats, man! You and her are good together. I’m happy for you.” Merle poured them each another shot and toasted to both of their good news. 

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Daryl eased back into bed behind Shannon and let his hands roam over her warm skin. She moved against him in her sleep, seeking out the warmth that he always provided. She jokingly called him her own personal heater, but he loved it. He loved that he could always find ways to bring her comfort. He rested on his elbow so he could look at her face, but he had to move her hair out of the way so he could. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever known and he considered himself a lucky bastard, indeed. 

“Babe? What’s wrong?” Shannon slurred in her half-sleep state.

“Not one thing, sweetheart. I just wanted to have you close and look at your pretty face.”

“You say the sweetest things to me. I don’t think I could ever get tired of it.” Shannon’s eyes were still closed and she had a lazy, content smile. 

“Good, ‘cause I’ll never get tired of telling you how perfect you are to me.” 

Tender, chaste kisses quickly escalated into deep passionate ones. 

“C’mere, baby girl,” Daryl growled. He pulled her underneath his own body. He pushed her shirt up over her breasts and trailed his tongue from one nipple to the next. Shannon writhed under him. The sensation of his hot breath and his mouth against her skin was heightened in her newly awakened state. Somehow, she managed to get her shirt off and tossed it onto the floor while Daryl rid her of her pajama bottoms and underwear. He placed hot, open-mouthed kisses over the flat plane of her belly, moving from hip to hip. Shannon opened her legs to him, allowing him the freedom to do as he pleased. 

Daryl followed the path of his fingers over her mound, and then each of her lips. Shannon let out soft sighs as he parted her and as his tongued lazily danced over her most sensitive area. It was still very early and Daryl fully intended on taking his time. 

Over and over, Daryl brought her to one exhilarating climax after another with his mouth and his fingers. Shannon pulled his hair and tore at the sheets, begging to have him inside of her. Daryl relented, but only after he was satisfied with his work. 

He rolled their bodies as one until she was on top of him. She glowed in a post-orgasmic sheen and she shook as Daryl helped her to sit up. 

“I want’cha to ride me, darlin’. I wanna watch ya ride my big cock.” Normally, Daryl’s dirty talk made Shannon blush, but if she was in just the right headspace, it sent her into overdrive. She grabbed the headboard for stability and raised up on her knees. Daryl gripped himself and watched as she slid over his throbbing length. 

They let out moans of utter satisfaction at the same time and Shannon began to slowly build up to a rhythmic pace that suited them both. 

Soon, Shannon didn’t need the support the headboard offered. Daryl held her hips with his big, rough hands and moved in time with her. She tossed her hair back and let out louder and louder cries of pleasure and Daryl could hardly stand how it made him feel. It was like he was a teenager about to experience his first orgasm. He felt a tightness and coiling beginning to consume him. Shannon could hear it in his moans and the way that he was breathing and the way his brow furrowed and the way he was biting his bottom lip. 

“Does my pussy make you feel good, baby?” Shannon didn’t give a single thought about what she would say in the heat of the moment, nor did she have any idea how it would affect him. 

He growled out a string of profanities and dropped her onto her back, throwing her legs over his shoulders.

“Oh, Jesus! You fuck me so good, Daryl! Don’t fucking stop! I’m gonna cum again!” Daryl laid his sweaty forehead on the center of her chest and pistoned into her as hard and fast as he could until he came, screaming her name into the side of her neck.

“Holy hell, woman,” Daryl panted. “You gotta let that hellcat out more often.” Shannon laughed and combed his sweaty hair off of his face. Daryl kissed from the center of her chest all the way up to her lips and smiled down at her after. “I love you, Shannon.”

“And, I love you, Daryl.” They pulled the covers back over themselves and snuggled as close as they could get to one another. There was much to be happy about in the Dixon home, but for now, it was time to get a little more rest.


	23. Chapter 23

Daryl ducked his head and peeked up occasionally. Shannon was pissed and she was not holding back. Daryl stood, leaning against the counter while she thoroughly chewed his ass. She found out, after the fact and not by him, exactly how he’d help direct the horde to the old rock quarry. He rode a motorcycle and rode to the side and all around the other vehicles to keep the attention of the walkers. All that Shannon had known was that Daryl was going to help lure the dead to the quarry pit so Abe and Dwight could set off the dynamite and bury them under piles of exploded rock. 

“How could you not tell me something like that, Daryl?” Shannon paced from one side of the kitchen to the next. Daryl had followed her there after she stormed out of their bedroom.

“Sweetheart, I’m sorry. I really am. I didn’t tell you because your anxiety about the mission was red-lining. I didn’t want to make it any worse than it already was. I knew that you would worry yourself sick if you knew what I was doing. I didn’t mean for it to come across as I was hiding something from you. I was only trying to keep you from worrying any more than you were.”

Shannon crossed her arms and stared back with an angry scowl. She could see his point and she appreciated that he was trying to protect her, but she still felt betrayed. It hurt her feelings that he felt he had to keep details from her.

“Shannon, baby, you gotta know that I would never do anything to hurt you intentionally. I thought I was doing the right thing.” He closed the gap between them and cautiously stroked the back of his fingers across her cheek. “I love you so much and it hurts my heart when you’re upset. I promise that I will never keep anything else from you. It was wrong of me not to tell you the plan.”

Shannon’s anger dissolved a little, but she didn’t want to let him completely off the hook just yet. He was staring at her with big, blue puppy eyes and she couldn’t stay mad no matter how hard she tried. 

“You forgive me, sweet girl?” Daryl’s voice was low and gravelly and being called “sweet girl” was her weakness. There was always a little inflection in his voice when he called her that and it made it even more special.

“Of course, I forgive you,” Shannon sighed. “Just promise me that you won’t keep anything else from me again. I might have more anxiety when you tell me, but I promise it is nothing compared to the anxiety I’ll have if I go into a situation thinking that you might be keeping something from me.”

“You’re right, sweetheart. I didn’t think of it that way. I really am sorry.” He framed her face with his warm hands and looked deep into her big, brown eyes, and made a solemn vow to give her every detail before he did anything else. “I know I can’t take away all of the worries, but I promise to do everything I can to make it better.”

“I love you, Daryl. Thank you for being so good to me.” 

He kissed the center of her forehead and then the tip of her nose and smiled. He pulled her close and held her head to his chest, resting his cheek on her soft hair. Nothing felt better than having her in his arms.

“Come on,” Shannon said, linking her fingers with his. “You’re freezing and you need a shower.”

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Shannon went in with the intention of collecting his wet, dirty clothes to throw into the washing machine, but Daryl had other ideas. 

“Come in with me,” he whispered into her ear. His hot breath made her shiver. Try as she might, she fell to his persuasion. She turned her head against his chest while his hands glided over the warm skin under her shirt. “Please, sweetheart?”

Shannon couldn’t tell him no. She never could tell him no when he was touching her the way that he was now. His hands were warm and rough and just right. He pulled her shirt over her head and swept her hair to one side. He made slow work of kissing her in all the right places on her neck just the way that he knew made her weak. That alone was enough to make Shannon dizzy. She gripped the sink and Daryl took advantage of her bare back being exposed to him. He kissed down the length of her spine and pulled off her pajama bottoms as he sank to his knees. His lips trailed hot kisses over each cheek of her ass and then down the back of each thigh. 

The next thing Shannon knew, she was being pulled into the shower and pressed against the wall. Hot water sprayed over them as Daryl kissed her as if his very life depended on it. She moaned into his mouth and it only spurred him on even more. He thrust his hips against her, groaning at the amount of pleasure he got from so little friction. Shannon smiled against his kiss and slid one of her hands down his muscular torso and started stroking his shaft. She moved her hand up and down in a painfully slow rhythm until he just couldn’t take it any longer. 

Daryl turned her facing out of the shower and placed her hands on the shower curtain rod. 

“Hold on to that. It’s bolted to the walls, so it ain’t going anywhere.” He then lifted her right leg and placed her foot on the side of the tub. “I want you from behind so I can have my hands all over your sexy body.”

Daryl couldn’t get his hands everywhere he wanted fast enough or for long enough. He crossed his left arm over her chest and took turns teasing one nipple and then the other while he kissed and sucked deep purple marks on the back of her neck. The fingers of his right hand moved in a perfect pattern of rubbing and gently squeezing her clit. Shannon’s eyes were already rolled back and her breathing was ragged. 

“Just wait til I put my cock inside you,” Daryl rasped, huskily against her ear. Her body reacted instantly. Her legs shook and her knees nearly buckled, but he held her tight and didn’t let go for a second. “I’ve got you, my sweet girl. I’m never letting you go.” 

Shannon’s body was under his total control. He took her to the precipice and when she was pleading for him to take her over, he thrust inside. He held her upright and murmured how good she felt to him. Daryl didn’t offer any reprieve. He thrust into her at a steady pace and continued harassing her clit despite her pleas that she couldn’t take anymore. She groaned and bucked against him and her arms shook uncontrollably from holding onto the shower rod. 

Daryl moaned like she’d never heard before and it was burning her alive. At times, his voice cracked and it turned her into a wild woman.

“That’s it, baby. Fuck me good.” 

Daryl growled low and deep right into her ear and her eyes rolled back. The sounds he made were more than enough to send her spiraling over the edge, but his moves were even better. He was a man who clearly enjoyed putting effort into what he was doing. His goal was always to make her cum first and as many times as he could before he could no longer hold back. 

“Shannon...Oh, shit, baby…” he groaned. She felt his legs shaking against her and his fingers dug into her flesh, hard. His smooth, even thrusts turned erratic and wild. Every thrust was punctuated with a groan of supreme pleasure. 

“Come on, baby...cum for me. I want you to fill me up.” Daryl draped over her back, almost bending her in half and he pushed her against his body, pumping into her until she felt him twitching inside of her. He gripped her with both arms, holding her tight while his body shook on top of her small frame.

Several minutes later, they tapped into their energy reserves long enough to shower off and get ready for bed. 

“C’mere, sweetheart. You’re shivering.” Daryl pulled her close and tucked the warm blankets around her. It had been a long, hard day for them and they were worn out. Shannon was already mostly asleep when they crawled into bed. He kissed her temple and assured her that he had the fire going good. She was asleep within seconds of laying her head on his chest.

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Andrea and Shannon nearly collided in the kitchen the next morning. Shannon was on a mission for a cup of hot coffee to wake herself up so she could get the day started. Andrea was in search of peppermint tea. She was only a little queasy and she was hoping to keep it from getting any worse than that. 

“Oh!” Andrea exclaimed, stopping short of crashing into Shannon who was rubbing her eyes as she stumbled into the kitchen. 

“Shit! I’m sorry, Andrea! I should have been watching where I was going.” They both started laughing at the way they were looking at each other and went to sit at the table together. 

“So, we’re up with the chickens, huh?” Shannon commented as she doctored her coffee to her liking. “What’s got you up so early?”

Shannon didn’t miss Andrea’s immediate smile. She might be queasy, but it was for the best reason of all.   
“Well, you are the first person I get to tell and I couldn’t be happier that it’s you.” Shannon raised an eyebrow as she sipped her steaming coffee. 

“I’m pregnant,” Andrea announced, simply. Shannon gawked at her for a moment before she realized that she wasn’t kidding. 

“Congratulations!” she shrieked. “Andrea, this is amazing news! I’m so happy for you and Merle! You’re both going to be amazing parents. Do you know how far along you are?”

Andrea thanked her and told her that she was roughly six weeks. “I’ve been tracking my cycle and when we, you know…” she looked a little embarrassed to say that they had been trying. It was like she thought people would instantly think of her and Merle having sex. “I may be closer to seven weeks, but Nabila said that she thinks that based on my cycle that the baby will be due in the middle of July.”

“Oh, Andrea! I am so excited for you! I’m here to help you in any way that you need, so, please don’t hesitate to ask for anything.”

“Thank you, Shannon. I couldn’t ask for a better friend. You know, I consider you more like a sister than a friend and I am so happy that we all get to be together.” Shannon went to Andrea and they hugged and shared a few happy tears. 

“I feel the same way about you. I never had a close relationship with my family and being here now is the happiest I've ever been. I know that sounds crazy and probably a little selfish of me, but it’s how I feel.” Andrea squeezed her hand and told her that she felt the same way. It was very surreal to feel happy and like your life was complete while the dead walked the earth, but they weren’t going to question it.

“I have something to tell you, too,” Shannon said with a giddy smile. “Daryl asked me to marry him. It was so sweet and he said that he felt bad that he didn’t have a ring for me, but it was perfect.”

The women chatted over the coffee and tea for a long while. It was good to have that quiet time before everyone was awake and there were a million things to do. They agreed that they were going to make it a point to have more of these talks. 

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Daryl peeked from under the covers and watched Shannon move about the room. Even doing the most mundane tasks, she radiated quintessential beauty. It seemed like he discovered new ways to love and admire her every day. 

When she was within reach, she grabbed her hand and gently pulled her on top of him. “Good morning,” he whispered before kissing her. Shannon giggled and kissed him back. This had to be her favorite part of the day. She loved getting him to herself during that little window of time before responsibilities pulled him away. 

“Good morning, handsome.” She gazed into his eyes, and for a moment there was nothing else in the whole world but the two of them. She kissed him once more and tried to get up, but Daryl held her where she was.

“We have to get up and get ready, babe. We have lunch with the Greene’s in a little while and I want to make sure that Harper is ok and has whatever medicine she needs before we head out.” Daryl let out a dissatisfied groan about having to get out of bed.

“But it’s warm here and I’ve got you right where I want you,” he whined. They laughed and talked quietly, the way that lovers do, until Shannon felt a light tap on her arm.

“Well, hey jellybean! Good morning!” Shannon moved off of Daryl and scooped the little girl up into her arms. “Did you have a good sleep last night?” Harper nodded and snuggled against her mama. “We’re going to the Greene’s farm for lunch. Ms. Maggie said that they have horses and chickens and pigs and cows there. Are you feeling up to going?”

Harper became very excited about going to see all of the animals, especially when she was told that she would get to help feed them all if she wanted. 

“Did you hear that, daddy? I getta help feed all of the animals!” She climbed over onto his lap and hugged him as she relayed the good news. 

“I heard. That sounds like big-time fun! You know, I think that your mama might have another surprise for you.” He smiled and gave Shannon a little nod. Harper looked up at her with the innocence and curiosity a four-year-old can muster and it melted Shannon’s heart. 

“Well, jellybean, your daddy asked me a very important question. He asked me if I would marry him and be his wife and your forever mama.”

Harper looked at Shannon with big, expectant eyes and a glowing smile. “What did you say?”

“I told him that I would love to, silly girl!” She laughed as Harper squealed and threw herself into Shannon’s hug. “So, I take it that you’re happy about it?”

“Yeah! I want you to be my forever mama and I want a baby sister!”

Shannon and Daryl looked at one another for a moment, not quite knowing how to respond, and then cracked up laughing.


	24. Chapter 24

“Lunch was delicious. We can’t thank you enough for having us,” Shannon said to Maggie as they washed dishes. The men, Daryl, Glenn, and Hershel were taking Harper around to feed the animals. She was so excited about it she could hardly sit still and eat. Daryl even had to remind her once that they were guests and that she needed to remember her manners. Of course, Hershel laughed and told them that he was glad to have someone so eager to help. 

“It’s been a long time since we had a little one here. I rather enjoy her company.” Harper warmed up very quickly to the grandfatherly man. He talked to her about her broken arm and explained how important it was to eat foods that were good for her so her bones would heal properly. Before Daryl knew it, Harper and Hershel were sitting next to one another and he told her how each of the different foods on her plate would work to heal her arm. 

“I think Harper has a new best buddy,” Shannon laughed. 

“Daddy always loved having kids around here. When I was a teenager and trying to make my own money during summer break, I babysat. Let’s just say that it was the easiest money I ever made. Daddy would snag them as soon as they got here and I hardly saw them at all before they left.” Hershel smiled fondly about the memories.

“My daughter likes to embellish, but she’s not far off from the truth,” Hershel chuckled. “It seems like you were a little girl for such a short time. Enjoy her while she’s small. It goes by in the blink of an eye.” 

They visited until late that afternoon and Harper had the time of her life. There were piglets and she couldn’t get over how small they were. She even tried to convince Daryl and Shannon to let her have one as a pet. 

“Tell you what, Harper,” Hershel started, bending at the waist to look her in the eye. “You can come and visit them any time you want, and you’re always welcome to come to help me feed the animals. Is that a deal?” Now, Harper had two farms that she could visit when she wanted to see the animals and that satisfied her just fine.

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Merle and Andrea were having a quiet, early dinner when Daryl, Shannon, and Harper returned. Merle had a big fire roaring in the fireplace and hot cocoa ready to prepare for his little sidekick. 

Harper ran straight in and started telling them all about the animals on the Greene’s farm. 

“You mean to tell me that you wanted to bring a little baby pig home with you?” Merle teased. 

“Yeah, but daddy said we didn’t have a proper place to keep it and that it couldn’t sleep with me.” Harper scowled, cutting her eyes at Daryl when she said it, causing everyone to laugh. 

“I know, I know. I’m terrible with all of my rules. Speaking of rules, you’ve been handling animals and you’re dirty. We need to get you a bath.” Harper whined because she was having a good time telling Uncle Merle and Aunt Andi what she’d done all afternoon. 

“We’ll make it a quick one.” She tried to stall until Daryl gave her “the look” that told her she was teetering on getting in trouble.

Before Daryl took Harper back for a quick bath and warm jammies, Uncle Merle promised they would have a family movie night and his special cocoa. It was ready and waiting for her, as well as a few of Aunt Andi’s chocolate chip cookies after her bath. 

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Shannon walked into the bedroom after tucking Harper into bed and making sure that she was snug and warm. Daryl was relaxing on the bed, reading a book. It was a Stephen King one. He’d read it before, of course, but there was something about reading about a virus that took out most of the population in a fictional story while it played out in real life. 

“Hey, beautiful,” he smiled and closed the book. “She give you a hard time about going to bed?” 

“Not at all. She was asleep before I even had the blankets over her.” She walked into the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth. She was startled when Daryl snuck up behind her and slid his hands around her waist.

“Daryl! Good Lord!” she laughed. 

“Sorry ‘bout that.” He pushed up against her and moved his hands from her waist to her breasts. “Wanna get a little drunk and fool around?” He rubbed his thumbs in circles around her nipples until they were hard. “A little buzz makes it even better.” 

“Are you sure that getting drunk is such a good idea? What if something happens?” 

Daryl slowly licked from her shoulder to her ear. “I can handle myself with a little bit of a buzz. I ain’t worried and you shouldn’t be either. Go make us a bed in front of the fireplace and I’ll take care of the booze.” He kissed her lips and smacked her ass before walking out. 

Shannon sat with her legs over Daryl’s and he rubbed his hand up and down her soft skin. They were each three shots in and feeling fine. Merle, Andrea, and Harper were all in bed early, but Daryl and Shannon weren’t ready to turn in yet. Daryl was in a mood and he wanted to kick back and have a little fun with his girl. 

“Your hair is getting long,” Shannon commented, sweeping his bangs out of his eyes with her fingers. 

“So’s yours.” Daryl pulled her down onto the blankets and stretched out beside her. She was just wearing one of his t-shirts and a pair of panties and that suited him just fine. It was less for him to have to contend with to get to his target. 

“You ain’t tired are ya?” Shannon grinned up at him and shook her head. She had a little bit of a buzz from the shots of whiskey they did, but she was far from ready to go to bed.

“Good,” he crooned. They were on their sides, front to front and Daryl allowed his hands to explore her freely. 

“Something tells me that you’re up to no good.”

“I’m most definitely up to no good,” Daryl replied with a mischievous chuckle. Shannon returned an impish grin and moved down, settling between his legs. 

“Lift up.” Shannon tugged at his boxers and he raised his hips off the blankets. 

“Damn, baby. You are full of surprises tonight.” He truly hadn’t anticipated this turn of events, but he wasn’t about to turn down a blowjob.

She looked up through her long, dark eyelashes and watched his expression change as she ran the flat of her tongue from the base to the tip. 

Daryl watched until his eyes rolled back and closed. A long, low moan vibrated from him. 

“Oh, shit…” he sighed. “You do that just right, baby.” 

Shannon moved her mouth and hand in sync and had Daryl worked into a heated frenzy in no time at all. 

“How ‘bout you bring that sweet pussy up here and let me have a taste?” Shannon stopped suddenly and looked at Daryl with wide eyes. 

“You heard me.” Daryl raised an eyebrow and wiggled his fingers, motioning for her to do as he asked. 

Before Daryl, no one had orally pleasured her, so sixty-nining was completely out of her wheelhouse. 

“Don’t be shy, darlin’. I’m gonna take good care of ya.” And, there it was. That low, gravelly voice and that devilish look that mesmerized Shannon every time. Plus, it certainly didn’t hurt that he was stroking his cock. “C’mon, baby. Take your panties off and sit on my face.”

Daryl licked her from front to back and back again and Shannon almost lost her mind at once. 

“Jesus...Daryl,” she squeaked. 

Shannon was almost too overwhelmed by the way Daryl went at her. His hands were all over her ass, pulling her back anytime she pulled away. He dug his fingers into the soft flesh and smacked one cheek and then the other every once in a while. 

The room was filled with the dirtiest sounds and moans and crackling logs from the fire. Shannon was in full sensory overload. Now, she was moving her hips to get Daryl’s lips and tongue just where she needed them. 

“Oh, my God... Shannon, baby, don’t stop.” Daryl had envisioned the two of them getting off this way, but Shannon was having some trouble focusing on her job because of Daryl’s stellar oral skills. 

“Get on the bed,” Daryl gruffed. As soon as Shannon was on the bed, he grabbed her ankles and pulled her to the edge, putting her feet on his shoulders. He moved right up between her legs and gripped his shaft, moving the tip up and down her drenched slit. 

“Don’t tease me, Daryl. Give it to me.” Shannon writhed around with need. She must have been really excited about what they were just doing because she was squeezing her breasts with both hands and moving her pelvis around in search of sweet relief. 

Daryl stood over her, watching with lust in his eyes. He gripped her thighs and pulled her against him as he thrust into her. Shannon gasped out loud at the sudden force of it and a violent shiver shot through her whole body. 

“That’s right, darlin’. I want you shakin’ all over this bed.” 

Daryl went for the slow build-up despite how much he just wanted to give it to her hard and fast. She was already on the cusp before they moved to the bed. Now she was a mewling, pleading wreck. 

“Just let go, sweet girl. Let it all go.” Daryl’s voice and use of her favorite term of endearment had her racing toward rapture. “Come on, Shannon. Do it, sweetheart.”

Beads of sweat rolled from Daryl’s forehead down his face. He clenched his teeth and growled as doubled his efforts. 

“Now, Shannon! Cum on my cock!” Shannon shattered under him. Her body tensed and shook and her back arched all the way off the bed. 

He buried himself in her as deep as he could go and pistoned into her, hard. She started slipping out of his grasp, so he wrapped his arms around her thighs and held her right where he needed her until he collapsed over the top of her. 

His arms shook with the effort it took to hold himself up over the top of Shannon. Her skin was dewy and her lips were pursed. She was simply radiant and everything he’d ever dreamed he’d find in a woman and she was going to be his wife. He knew there would never be anyone else for him. Shannon was it. And, that thought made him happier than he ever thought possible.


End file.
